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BOOKS 


BT 


EDWARD  MEYRICK  GOULBURN,  D.  D., 

PEEBENDAET  OF  ST.   PAUL'S,  CHAPLAIN  TO   THE   BISHOP  OF  OXFORD, 
AND    ONE   OF   HER   MAJESTY'S   CHAPLAINS   IN   ORDINARY. 


Thfniffhts  on  Personal  Religion  ;  Being  a  Treatise 
on  the  Christian  Life  in  its  two  chief  elements,  Devotion 
and  Practice.  With  two  new  chapters  not  in  previous 
editions.  By  Edward  Meyrick  Goulburn,  D.  D.  Fourth 
American  Edition,  enlarged.  With  a  Prefatory  Note  by 
George  11.  Houghton,  D.  D.  1  vol.,  12mo.  Cloth, 
$2.00  ;  cheap  edition,  $1.25. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Devotional  Study  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures^  By  Edvv^ard  Meyrick 
GouLHORN.  First  American  from  the  Seventh  London 
Edition.     1  vol.,  12mo.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

The  Idle  JVord  ;  Short  Keligious  Essays  on  the  Gift  of 
Speech,  and  its  Employment  in  Conversation.  1  vol., 
12mo.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

Sermons    Preached   on    Various    Occasions 

during   the   last   twenty   years.     By  Edward    Meyrick 
Goulburn.     1  vol.,  12mo.     Cloth,  $1.75. 

Office  of  the  Holy  Comtnunion  in  the  Booh 
of  Common  Prayer  ;  a  Series  of  Lectures  deliv- 
ered in  the  Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangfhst.  By 
Edward  Meyrick  Goulburn.  Adapted  by  the  Author 
for  the  Episcopal  Service  in  the  United  States.  1  vol., 
12mo.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  PubUshers, 

443  and  445  Broadway,  New  York. 


,<i- 


u 


V 


I  '^ 


N 


I 


\ 


THE    OFFICE 


OF  THE 


HOLY    COMMUNION 


IN   THE 


BOOK    OF    COMMON    PRAYER; 

DELIVERED  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST,  PADDINGTON. 

.BY 

EDWAED    MEYRICK  ''GOULBUEiT,    D.D., 

PEEBENDAET   OP   ST.   PATJL'S, 
AUD  ONE  OF  HEE  MAJESTY'S  CHAPLAINS  IN  OEDINAEY. 


ADAPTED  BY  THE  AUTHOR  TO  THE  COIIMUNION  OFFICE  ACCORDING  TO  THE 

USE   OF   THE   PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH    IN   THE   UNITED 

STATES   OF  AMERICA. 


NEW     YORK: 
D.     APPLETON     AXD      COMPANY, 

443     &     445     BKOADWAT. 
1807. 


PEEFATOEY   IlTOTICE. 


The  chief  design  of  this  little  Work  is  Edification. 
But  in  writing  on  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion, 
it  is  imj)ossible  to  avoid  altogether  questions  of  a  con- 
troversial character. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Sacrament  must  of  course  be 
stated  and  considered  in  such  a  vrork.  On  this  diffi- 
cult subject  I  have  endeavourecf  to  set  forth  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Anglican  Churches,  as  expressed  in  their 
formularies,  and  represented  by  their  best  Divines, 
repudiating  on  the  one  hand  Transubstantiation,  and 
all  erroneous  views  holding:  of  that  do2;ma,  and  on 
the  other  Zwinglianism  and  all  views  which  go  to 
reduce  the  Holy  Sacrament  to  a  mere  symbol,  and  to 
empty  it  of  its  character  as  the  Highest  Means  of 
Grace.  I  have  tried  to  maintain  that  our  Lord's 
Body  and  Blood  are  verily  and  indeed  (and  not 
merely  in  a  figure)  taken  and  received  by  the  faithful 
in  the  Lord's  Supper,  though  after  a  heavenly  and 


iv  Prefatory  Notice, 

spiritual  manner,  which  (because  it  is  heavenly  and 
spiritual)  it  is  presumjptuous  to  attempt  to  compre- 
hend or  define. 

And  if  in  treating  of  so  delicate  a  subject  I  have 
made  (on  either  side)  a  statement  at  all  unsafe,  I  de- 
sire to  retract  such  statement,  and  to  submit  to  the 
authority  of  the  Formularies  of  the  English  Church, 
to  all  which  I  give  my  unqualified  assent  and  consent. 

One  object  of  these  Lectures  has  been  to  point 
out  to  my  hearers  and  readers  the  great  beauty  and 
appropriateness  of  the  OflSce  on  which  I  have  under- 
taken to  comment,  and  the  large  amount  of  thought, 
erudition,  and  piety  which  underlies  it.  Almost  all 
the  world  praise  the  Prayer  Book  (even  Dissenters 
are  found  to  do  so  very  co^oiously),  and  with  about  as 
much  intelligence  as  they  show  in  praising  Shakspere 
and  Milton.  If  tlie  majority  would  be  honest  about 
Shakspere  and  Milton,* they  would  confess  that  some 
of  the  ephemeral  poetry  of  the  day  is  far  more  attrac- 
tive, and  possesses  what  seems  to  them  more  spark- 
ling poetical  beauty;  and  if  the  majority  would  be 
honest  about  the  Prayer  Book,  they  would  admit  that 
they  much  prefer  to  its  terse  and  chastened  fervour 
some  rambling  and  diffuse  piece  of  devotion,  thrown 
off  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  without  method  of 
arrangement,  and  of  no  merit  as  a  composition.  I 
have  aimed  in  these  pages  at  insinuating  the  thought 
that  the  Prayer  Book  will  repay  study,  and  deep 
study,  and  that  none  can  really  appreciate  it  (what- 


Prefatory  Notice,  v 

ever  professions  they  may  make  to  that  effect),  with- 
out at  all  events  a  patient  and  careful  consideration 
of  its  structure  and  contents.  If  what  I  have  written 
shall  have  the  effect  of  giving  to  any  reader  a  deeper 
insight  into  the  significance  of  Devotional  Forms, 
with  which  his  ear  has  been  long  familiarized,  and  of 
enabling  him,  while  joining  in  them,  to  catch  more  of 
the  spirit  which  they  breathe,  my  labour  will  be 
abundantly  repaid,  E.  M.  G, 


OONTEI^TS. 


g  n  t  y  0  JtUu  1 0 1  y  ♦ 

LECTUEE  I. 

THE  mSTOPJCAL  OEIGDf  OF  THE  HOLY   C0]VEMU2n[0N. 
Psalm  cxxxv.  13. 

PAGE 

"  Thy  memorial,  0  Lord,  endureth  tlirougliout  all  generations^^   .      3 
LECTUEE  II. 

HOW  IT  FAEED   "VHTH  THE   EUCHAEIST,    WHTLE    THE    ES'STITFTION 
WAS   STDLL   rXDER   THE   ETE    OF   THE   APOSTLES. 

1  Cor.  xi.  20-22. 

"  Wfien  ye  come  together  therefore  into  o1^  place,  this  is  not  to  eat 
the  Lor(Us  supper.  For  in  eating,  every  one  taketh  before  other 
his  own  supper  ;  and  one  is  hungry,  and  another  drunken.  What, 
have  ye  not  houses  to  eat  and  drink  in  ?  or  despise  ye  the  Church 
of  God?'' .  .17 


yiii  Contents, 

PAET    I. 

LECTUEE  I. 

OF  THE  LOEd's   PEATEE  AND   THE   COLLECT  FOE  PTJEITY. 
Jer.  xvii.  9,  10. 

PAGB 

"  The  Tieart  is  deceitful  above  all  tMngs,  and  desperately  wicked  ; 
who  can  Tcnow  it  f    I  the  Lord  search  the  heart,  I  try  the  reins,' '    33 

LECTUEE  n. 

OF  THE  DECALOGUE  AISTD  ITS  EESPONDS ;    AJSTD  OF  THE  PASSAGE  OF 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  AND  THE  COLLECT  APPENDED  TO  IT. 

1  Cor.  xi.  28. 
*^  But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that  Iread, 
and  drink  of  that  cvjo,''       .  .  .  .  .  .45 


PAET    II. 

®  It  je    It :»  V  je  ♦ 

LECTUEE  L 

OF       THE       COLLECTS. 

ECCLES.  V.  2. 

*'  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  he  hasty  to 
utter  any  thing  before  God :  for  God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  wgon 
earth  :  therefore  let  thy  tvords  be  few,'*      .  ,  ,  .65 

LECTUEE  IL 

OF  THE  EPISTLES  AND   GOSPELS. 

John  vii.  46. 
**  I^ever  man  spake  like  this  man,"    .  .  .  .  .76 


Contents.  ix 


LECTURE  m. 

OF  THE   CEEEDS;    A2TD  PAETICULAELT  OF  THE  NICENE   CEEED. 
1  Tim.  iii.  16. 

PAGE 

"  And  without  controversy  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness  ; 

God  teas  manifest  in  the  flesh, 
Justified  in  the  Spirit, 

Seen  of  angels, 
Preached  unto  the-  Gentiles, 
Believed  on  in  the  warld, 

deceived  up  into  glory, ^^         ,  .  .88 

Note  on  the  Eternal  Generation  op  the  Son  op  God,    .  .  100 

LECTUEE  IV. 

OF  THE  SEEMON   OE  IXSTEUCTION. 

2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2. 

^^  I  charge  thee  thereforehef ore  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ .... 
Freach  the  Word,''  .  .  .  .  .  .  .102 

LECTUEE  Y. 

OF   THE  ALMS  AXD   OBLATIONS  ;    AND   OF  THE  SACEIFICIAL  CHAE- 
ACTEE  OF  THE  HOLT  COMMTNION. 

1  CoE.  X.  15-22. 

**  /  speak  as  to  wise  men  ;  judge  ye  what  I  say.  The  cup  of  llessing 
which  we  llees,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  Hood  of  Christ  f 
The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  body 
of  Christ  ?  For  we  being  many  are  one  bread,  and  one  body  :  for 
we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread.  Behold  Israel  after  the 
flesh  ;  are  not  they  which  eat  of  the  sacrifices  partakers  of  the 
altar?  What  say  I  then?  that  the  idol  is  any  thing,  or  that 
whichisofered  in  sacrifice  to  idols  in  anything?  But  I  say, 
that  the  tilings  which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice  to  devils, 
and  not  to  God  :  and  I  would  not  that  ye  should  have  fellowship 
with  devils.  Ye  cannot  drink  the  cup  of  the  Lord,  and  the  cup 
of  devils  :  ye  cannot  be  partakers  of  the  Lord^s  Table,  and  of  the 
table  of  devils.    F>o  we  provoke  the  Lord  to  jealousy  ?'*  .  .  114 


Contents, 


LEOTUEE  VI. 

OF  THE  mTEEOESSION  EST  THE  PEATER  FOE  THE  OnUEOH  MILITANT. 

1  Tim.  i.  1,  2. 

PAGE 

*^  lexJiort  tlierefore,  tJiat,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  inter- 
cessions, and  giving  of  tkanlcs,  be  made  for  all  men  / 

**  For  Icings,  and  for  all  tliat  are  in  autliority  ;  that  we  may  lead  a 
quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and  Jionesty,^^      .  ,  128 

LECTURE  YII. 

OF   THE  COlSEMEMOEATIOISr   OF    THE    DEAD  IN  THE   OFFICE   OF   THE 
HOLT   CQjyiMUNlOIsr. 

Heb.  xii.  22,  23. 
^^  But  ye  are  come  ....  to  tJie  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,'*  .  143 


PAET  III. 
LEOTUEE  I. 

OF   THE   EXHOETATION    AT    THE  TIME   OF    THE   COMMUNION. 

Matt.  yii.  6, 

"  Give  not  tTiat  wliich  is  lioly  unto  tTie  dogs, 
Neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine,'*     .  .  159 

LEOTUEE  11. 

OF  THE  INVITATION. 

Luke  xiv.  17. 

"  Ee  sent  his  servant  at  supper  time  to  say  to  them  that  were  bidden, 
Come  ;  for  all  things  are  now  ready,'*       ....  171 


Contents,  xi 


LECTURE  III. 

OF   THE   COXFESSIOX. 

1  JOHK  i.  9. 

PAGE 

"  If  we  confess  ovr  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrigMeousness,'  .  .  183 


LECTUEE  IV. 

OF  MESnSTEEIAIi   ABSOLIJTIOX. 

John  xx.  21-23. 

"  Then  said  Jesus  to  them  again,  Peace  le  unto  you  /  as  My  Father 
hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  He  had  said  this, 
He  treathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Beceive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost :  whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them  / 
and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained,^^         .  .  193 


LECTURE  V. 

OF  THE  FOEMS  IN  "WTUCH  THE  PE0TESTA2TT  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH  IN 
AMEEIOA  DISPENSES  ABSOLUTION. 

John  xx.  22,  23. 

"  When  He  had  said  this,  He  treathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them, 
Beceive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost  :  whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are 
remitted  unto  them  /  and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are 
retained/*      .  .  ,•....  20G 


LECTURE  YI. 

OF  THE  FOUE   COilFOETAELE   "W^OEDS, 

Hebrews  x.,  part  of  ver.  22. 
^'' Let  us  draw  near  .   .   .  .  in  full  assurance  cf faith,"       .  .218 


xii  Contents. 

# 

PAET  lY. 

LEOTUEE  I. 

OF  THE  PEEFAOE  OF  THADSTKSGIVriNrG,  AND  OF  ITS  EELATION  TO  THE 

TEESANOTUS. 

Hebeews  xiii.  15. 

PAGE 

**  By  Him  therefore  let  us  offer  ihe  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  con- 
tinually,  tliat  is,  the  fruit  of  our  lips,  giving  thanks  to  His 
Name,^^         ........  231 

LECTURE  II. 

OF   OTTE  COMMUNION  WITH  THE  ANGELS,  AND  OF  THE  TEESANOTUS. 

YipoatkrfkvQarz  [wpLactv  ayykX(jiv. — Heb.  xii.  22  (part). 
"  Ye  are  come  .  .  .  .to  an  innumerable  company  of  Angels,^'     ,  241 

LECTURE  IIL 

OF  THE  PEATEE   OF  ACCESS. 

Luke  ix.  34. 1 
**  They  feared  as  they  entered  into  the  clotid,"  ,  .  ,  252 

LECTURE  IV. 

OF  THE  FIEST  PAET  OF  THE  PEATEE  OF  CONSEOEATION. 

Luke  xxii.  19. 
**  This  do  in  remembrance  of  Me,"    .....  264 


Contents,  xiii 


LEOTUEE  V. 

OF  THE  CONSECEATION  OF  THE  ELEMENTS,  AND  THE  OBLATION. 
1  Tim.  iv.  4,  5. 

PAGE 

^^  For  every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  notMng  to  be  refused,  if 
it  be  received  with  thanksgiving  :  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  Word 
of  God  and  Prayer,^  ......  276 


LEOTUEE  yi.  _ 

THE  DOCTEDvE   OF   THE  BTJCHAEIST. 
1  Cor  X.  16. 

"  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not  thecomrhu/nion  of  the 
Blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  breah,  is  it  not  the  com- 
munion of  the  Blood  of  Christ  ^  "  .  ....  286 


LEOTUEE  yn. 

THE  BLESSING  OF  THE  EUCHAEI3T,  "SVITH  A  FtFETHEE  ELLUSTEATION 
OF  ITS  DOCTEINE. 

1  CoE.  vi.  17. 
"  He  that  is  joined  unto  the  Lord  is  one  Spirit,^*     ,  ,  .  800 


LEOTUEE  Vm.       * 

OF  THE  SENTENCES  OF  ADMINISTEATION. 

John  vi.  57. 

"  He  that  eaieth  Me,  even  he  shall  live  by  J/e,"         .  .  .  310 


xiv  Contents. 


LECTURE  IX. 

OF  THE  POST-COMMUNION. 
John  xvii.  1.    Matt.  xxvi.  80. 

PAOB 

"  These  rvords  sj)ake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes  to  Heaven,  and 
said,  Father,  the  hour  is  come  ....  And  when  they  had  sung 
an  hymn,  they  went  out  into  the  Moimt  of  Olives,^'  .  .  322 


LECTURE  X. 

OF   THE  BENEDICTION. 

♦John  xiv.  27.  , 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  you.  My  peace  I  give  unto  you  :  not  as  the 
world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you/^      .....  331 


APPENDIX. 

A  SEEMON  DIRECTED  AGAINST  TEANSTJBSTANTIATION  AND  KINDEED 

EEEOES. 

John  ir.  49,  50.    Matt.  viii.  8-10. 

"  TJie  nolleman  saith  unto  him.  Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child  die. 
Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Go  thy  way  :  thy  son  liveth. 

**  The  centurion  answered  and  said.  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that 
Thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof :  hut  speah  the  word  only, 
and  my  servant  shall  he  healed. 

**  For  lam  a  man  under  authority,  having  soldiers  under  me;  and 
I  say  to  this  man.  Go,  and  he  goeth ;  and  to  another.  Come,  and 
he  Cometh  /  and  to  m,y  servant,  Do  this,  and  he  doeth  it. 
When  Jesus  heard  it  He  m^arvelled,  and  said  to  them  that  followed, 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in 
Israel,'*         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ZiZ 


INTRO  DUG  TORT. 


I  'EC.  FEB  188; 

THSGLOGICAL 


LECTUEE    I. 

THE  HISTOEICAL  OEIGIN  OF  THE  HOE§^.  COMMITNION. 

"  2r!)S  memorial,  ©  SovH,  ctttrurct]^  tfirouflfjout  all  flena^atiott:?/*— 
Psalm  cxxxv.  13. 

Before  entering  on  the  consideration  of  the  EngKsh 
Office  of  the  Holy  Communion,  it  will  be  proper,  by 
way  of  Preface,  to  give  a  slight  sketch  of  the  history 
and  origin  of  the  Ordinance. 

Those  who  desire  to  understand  Christianity  thor- 
oughly, whether  in  its  doctrines  or  in  its  institutions, 
should  always  bear  in  mind  that  Judaism  was  the  cradle 
of  it.  In  fact,  Christianity  was  not  so  much  a  new  re- 
ligion as  the  extraordinary  development  of  a  religion 
which  had  long  existed.  Judaism,  indeed,  was  a  nar- 
row dull-coloured  chrysalis  ;  and  Christianity  in  com- 
parison of  it  is  like  the  painted  butterfly,  free  and  ethe- 
real, which  disports  itself  in  sunlight  and  air ;  still  as 
the  butterfly  was  once  confined  in  the  chrysalis,  so  the 
germ  of  Cliristianity  lay  hid  in  Judaism.  "  The  salva- 
tion "  (said  our  Lord  to  the  woman  of  Samaria)  "  is  of 
the  Jews."  The  Saviour  Himself  was  a  Jew,  pointed 
at  by  the  silent  (yet  eloquent)  finger  of  a  thoHsand  ora- 
cles, given  by  God's  holy  Prophets,  "  which  had  been 


4  The  Historical  Origin  [inteo- 

since  the  world  began."     His  Apostles,  the  great  instru- 
ments of  propagating  His  religion,  were  all  Jews,  reared 
in  Jewish  habits  of  thought,  surrounded  by  JeAvish  asso- 
ciations, devout  men  according  to  the  Law.     Many  of 
the    doctrines  which  they  proclaimed  on   the   housetop 
(such  as  the  Resurrection,  the  Atonement,  and  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  the  Trinity)  had  been  whispered  in  the  ear 
under  the  Law,  spoken  of  under  the  voice  mysteriously 
as  subjects  reserved  for  the  initiated,  and  on  which  fuller 
revelations  were  ^  store  for  God*s  people.     The  highest 
and  most  comprehensive  precept  which  they  had  to  give, 
— "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might," — 
had  been  given  ages  before  by  the  great  Jewish  Legisla- 
tor.    The  petitions  of  the  Model  Prayer^  which  they 
were  to  put  into  the  mouth  of  disciples,  did  not  (for  the 
most  part)  originate  with  their  Divine  Master  ;  they  had 
been  floating  about  previously  in  the  devotional  literature 
of  the  Jews  ;  and  Christ's  part  in  them  was  chiefly  that 
of  compilation  and  arrangement.     Baptism,  the  initia- 
tory rite  of  Christianity,  was  perfectly  familiar  to  the 
Jews  of  the  time  of  Christ.     It  had  been  practised  for 
long  centuries  at  the  admission  of  Proselytes ;  and  the 
authority  for  it  was  supposed  to  be  derived  ^  from  the 

^  "They"  (the  Jewish  writers)  "  take  notice  that  Moses  (Numb. 
XV.  15)  orders  thus,  One  ordinance  shall  he  both  for  you  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  also  for  the  stranger  (or  proselyte)  that  sojourneth  with 
■you.  Now  they  reckon  that  the  Israelites  themselves  were  at  their 
entering  into  Covenant  with  God  at  the  time  of  their  receiving  the 
Law  in  Mount  Sinai,  all  of  them  washed  or  baptized.  So  they  under- 
stand those  words  (Exod.  xix.  10),  And  the  Lord  said  tmto  Moses, 
Go  unto  the  people,  and  sanctify  them  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  let 
them  wash  their  clothes,  and  be  ready  against  the  third  day^ — Wall's 
History  of  Infant  Baptism.     Introduction,  §  2. 


DUCTOKY.]       of  the  Holy  Communion.  5 

direction  for  a  ceremonial  washing,  wliicli  Moses  gave 
the  people  before  they  were  formallj  admitted  into  cov- 
enant with  God  at  Mount  Sinai.  And  what  shall  we  say 
of  the  Lord's  Supper?  That  it  grew  entirely  out  of  the 
Jewish  Paschal  Festival,  which  it  was  destined  to  super- 
sede ;  that'^the  elements  of  wine  and  unleavened  bread 
had  been  used  for  long  centuries  in  the  Paschal  feast, 
and  a  blessing  or  consecration  pronounced  over  them, 
long  before  our  Lokd  by  Sis  Blessing  converted  them 
into  a  Sacrament  of  His  Religion.  Let  us,  as  it  were, 
visit  the  Lord's  Supper  in  this  its  cradle,  by  recounting 
some  particulars  of  the  Paschal  Festival,  as  they  are 
given  by  Jewish  writers. 

All  Jewish  feasts  were  preluded  with  a  ceremonial 
washing,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  Passover,  was  re- 
peated in  the  course  of  it.  The  washing  of  the  disciples' 
feet,  when  the  supper  was  served,'^  was  a  usual  ceremo- 
ny, the  only  novel  circumstance  being  that  on  this  occa- 
sion the  Master  of  the  Feast  Himself  officiated  in  this 
humiliating  way.     After  the  first  washing,  the  Master, 

^  Our  Authorized  Yersion  tells  ^s  that,  "  supper  being  ended^'' 
the  washing  of  the  Disciples'  feet  took  place  (John  xiii.  2).  This  is 
a  mistranslation.  If  the  usual  readhig  delnvov  -yevo/iivov  be  retained, 
the  sense  will  be,  "  supper  being  served,"  or,  "  when  supper  had  be- 
gun" (compare  such  expressions  as 'jy^utpcf  yn'OfihTjc,  "when  it  was 
day,"  "  when  day  had  begun,"  Trputag  yevofievTjg^  "  when  the  morn- 
ing was  come").  Tischendorf  accepts  the  reading  yivofzivov,  which 
would  mean,  "  when  supper  was  beginning,"  "  when  they  were  on 
the  point  of  sitting  down."  But,  independently  of  particular  ex- 
pressions, it  is  abundantly  clear  from  the  Sacred  N"arrative  that  sup- 
per could-not  have  been  "  ended''^  when  the  washing  took  place;  for 
it  is  represented  as  in  progress  afterwards  (ver.  26),  where  we  read, 
"  Wh'Cn  He  had  dipped  the  sop,  He  gave  it  to  Judas  Iscariot,  the 
son  of  Simon." 


6  Tli&  Historical  Origin  [inteo- 

taking  a  cup  of  wine  in  his  hand,  said,  "  Blessed  be 
Thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  the  King  of  the  Universe,  who 
hast  created  the  fruit  of  the  vine."  The  cup  was  then 
passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  each  guest  tasted  it. 
Our  Lord's  conipliance  with  this  early  part  of  the  cere- 
mony is  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  alone,  who  makes  it  ex- 
tremely clear  that  this  was  not  the  Sacramental  Cup,  by 
referring  shortly  afterwards  to  that  as  "  the  Cup  after 
Supper,"  whereas  this  Cup,  and  the  participation  of  it, 
opened  the  proceedings.  A  table  was  then  brought  in, 
spread  with  bitter  herbs,  unleavened  bread,  and  a  thick 
sauce  *  made  to  resemble  clay,  and  intended  to  remind 
the  pious  Israelite  of  his  forefathers  having  made  bricks 
in  Egypt.  Crowning  all  these  viands,  was  the  roasted 
body  of  the  Passover  Lamb.  Then  the  Master  blessed 
God,  who  created  the  fruit  of  the  earth ;  and  dipping 
some  of  the  herbs  in  the  sauce,  ate  them,  and  was  fol- 
lowed in  this  action  by  the  whole  company.  (We  are 
at  once  reminded  that  the  dipping  of  a  sop  and  the  hand- 
ing it  to  Judas  was  the  way  in  which  our  Blessed  Lord 
indicated  the  traitor  to  his  colleagues.)  Then  followed 
a  formal  declaration  of  thg  grounds  of  the  Paschal  Insti- 
tution, which  was  done  in  this  manner.  A  child,  or 
some  one  assuming  the  character  of  a  stranger,  asked, 
"  What  meaneth  this  service  ?  "  The  answer  was,  "  How 
diiferent  is  this  night  from  all  other  nights  !  for  all  other 
nights  we  wash  but  once,  in  this  twice  ;  in  all  other 
nights  we  eat  either  leavened  or  unleavened  bread,  in 
this  unleavened  only ;  in  other  nights,  we  eat  any  sort 
of  herbs,  in  this  night,  bitter  herbs  ;  in  all  other  nights 
we  eat  and  drink  either  sitting  or  lying,  but  in  this  we 

^  It  was  called   Charosdh^  and  made  of  raisins,  figs,  dates,  &c., 
pressed  or  stamped  together. 


BucTOEY.]       of  the  Holy  Communion.  7 

lie  (or  recline)  only."  (Remember  that  the  disciple, 
"whom  Jesus  loved,  was  lyin(j  on  His  iDOSom  at  supper.) 
Then  followed  a  recital  to  this  effect, — that  the  Passover 
was  instituted  to  commemorate  the  Lord's  passing  over 
the  houses  of  their  fathers, — that  the  bitter  herbs  were 
eaten,  to  remind  them  how  the  Egyptians  had  made  the 
lives  of  those  fathers  bitter ;  and,  thirdly,  that  the  un- 
leavened bread  was  to  remind  them  how  they  had  been 
cast  out  of  Egypt  in  haste,  before  their  dough  had  time 
to  be  leavened.  This  formal  recital,  declaration,  or 
showing  forth  of  the  grounds  of  the  Paschal  Institution, 
corresponds  to,  and  is  represented  by,  that  passage  of 
our  CommunioQ  Office  which  begins,  "And  to  the  end 
that  we  should  alway  remember  the  exceeding  great  love 
of  our  Master  and  only  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  thus  dy- 
ing for  us,  and  the  innumerable  benefits  which  by  His 
precious  blood-shedding  He  hath  obtained  to  us ;  He 
hath  instituted  and  ordained  holy  mysteries,  as  pledges 
of  His  love,  and  for  a  continual  remembrance  of  His 
death,  to  our  great  and  endless  comfort."  And  to  it  no 
doubt  St.  Paul  refers,  when  he  says  of  the  Christian  Or- 
dinance :  "As  often  as  ye  eat  this  Bread,  and  drink  this 
Cup,  ye  do  sliow  forth  (declare,  recite  the  intention  and 
significance  of)  the  Lord's  Death,  till  He  come.'*  The 
second  cup  of  wine  was  then  blessed  and  partaken  of; 
after  which  followed  the  breaking  and  distribution  (after 
a  thanksgiving  similar  to  that  said  over  the  wine)  of  one 
of  the  unleavened  cakes,  two  of  which  were  always  pro- 
vided. Then  the  company  partook  of  the  lamb,  enga- 
ging in  conversation  the  while  ;  and  it  was  during  this 
period  probably  that  the  indication  of  Judas,  as  traitor, 
by  giving  him  a  piece  of  bread  sopped  or  dipped  in  the 
clay-like    sauce,   and   his    subsequent    exit   took   place. 


8  Tlie  Historical  Origin  [intro- 

Thongh  he  joined  in  the  Pasclial  supper,  there  are  good 
grounds  for  doubt*  whether  he  was  present  at  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Eucharist.  There  was  no  reason  why  he 
should  witness  what,  as  his  wicked  design  was  now  ma- 
tured bj  Satan's  entering  into  him,  he  would  never  have 
to  hand  down  or  administer.  The  conversation  which 
we  may  suppose  had  dropped  into  an  ominous  silence 
after  his  sullen  withdrawal,  was  beginning  to  revive, 
when  the  great  Master  of  the  Feast  with  peculiar  solem- 
nity took  the  second  unleavened  cake,  and,  breaking  it 
with  both  His  hands  according  to  the  usual  form,  substi- 
tuted for  the  ordinary  Judaical  blessing  certain  words  of 
His  own,  which  gracious  words  were  for  eleven  centuries 
of  the  Church's  existence  (as  indeed  they  are  now)  the 
comfort  of  faithful  hearts  and  simple  minds,  but  since 
that  time  have  been  the  rallying-point  of  controversy  for 
curious  and  carnally-minded  disputants :  "  Take,  eat, 
this  is  my  Body,  which  is  given  for  you  :  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  Me." 

Soon  after,  the  third  cup  was  mingled,  which  was 
usually  called  "  the  -cup  of  blessing."  Over  this  cup  it 
was  usual  to  give  thanks  for  the  Covenant  of  Circumcis- 

*  It  is  a  moot  point  whether  Judas  partook  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion. The  generality  of  modern  critics  (Dean  ElUcott  among  the 
number)  think  his  exit  from  the  supper-room  to  have  taken  place 
before  the  Institution  of  the  Eucharist,  the  latter  half  of  which  at 
all  events  is  expressly  said  to  have  occurred  ij-eto,  to  decTrv^aac  "  afia* 
supper,"  Luke  xxii.  20,  Our  Prayer  Book  represents  the  view  of 
the  earlier  commentators,  who  regard  Judas  as  the  first  instance  of 
an  impenitent  and  unworthy  communicant :  "  Lest  after  the  taking 
of  this  Holy  Sacrament  the  devil  enter  into  you,  as  he  entered  into 
Judas."  Canon  Wordsworth  and  Dean  Alford  subscribe  to  this  view. 
The  precise  chronological  arrangement  of  the  events  of  the  Last 
Supper  is  surrounded  with  great  difficulties. 


DT7CT0EY.]       of  the  JSoly  Communion.  9 

ion,  and  for  the  Law  of  Moses.  But  "  tlie  cup  of  bless- 
ing "  was  now  to  commemorate  a  better  Covenant,  and  a 
new  Law  ;  and  accordingly  our  Lord,  here  again  aban- 
doning the  customary  formula,  pronounced,  and  in  pro- 
nouncing prescribed  to  His  Church,  these  new  words  of 
Consecration :  "  Drink  ye  all  of  this  ;  for  this  is  My 
Blood  of  the  New  Covenant "  (observe,  the  cup  had  been 
hitherto  the  cup  of  the  Old  Covenant,  thanksgiving  for 
the  blessings  of  the  Old  Covenant  having  been  made  over 
it),  which  is  shed  for  you  and  for  many  for  the  remission 
of  sins." 

A  fourth  cup  followed,  and  sometimes  a  fifth :  though 
there  are  no  traces  of  our  Lord's  havini?  observed  these . 
parts  of  the  ceremonial,  which  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
by  the  Jews  themselves  considered  essential.  The  sup- 
per was  terminated  by  singing  certain  Psalms  ("When 
they  had  sung  an  hymn,  they  went  out  unto  the  Mount 
of  Olives  ")  ;  and  if  these  Psalms,  with  which  the  festi- 
val closed,  were,  as  they  are  commonly  represented  to 
have  been,  the  116th,  117th,  and  118th,  most  striking 
under  the  circumstances  must  have  been  the  use  of  those 
words  which  occur  towards  the  end  of  the  last  of  these : 
"  God  is  the  Lord,  who  hath  showed  us  light :  bind  the 
sacrifice  with  cords,  even  unto  the  horns  of  the  Altar." 
The  Victim  was  there,  Who  was  to  be  sacrificed  in  the 
course  of  the  next  morning,  and  the  cords  were  prepar- 
ing with  which  to  bind  Him  ;  for  Judas  was  just  hatch- 
ing his  infernal  plot,  and,  after  the  interlude  of  the  Ag- 
ony and  the  disciples'  slumber,  it  was  to  result  in  the 
action  described  in  those  words :  "  Then  the  band  and 
the  captain  and  officers  of  the  Jews  took  Jesus  and  hound 
Eimr 


10  The  HistoriGoL  Origin  [inteo- 

"We  trust  that  no  one,  to  whose  mind  this  historical 
origin  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  unfamiliar,  will  be  dis- 
posed to  think  that  we  derogate  from  the  dignity  of  the 
Ordinance  when  we  thus  trace  up  both  parts  of  it  to  a 
Jewish  rite.  That  Jewish  rite  was  itself  in  its  main  feat-" 
ures  ordained  by  the  Almighty  ;  and,  moreover,  although 
it  is,  as  we  have  shown,  a  well-established  fact  that  the 
elements  of  the  Lord's  Supper  were  employed  at  Jewish 
festivals,  and  received  a  kind  of  consecration,  they  never 
had  the  virtue,  and  therefore  never  had  the  dignity  of  a 
Sacrament,  till  Christ's  institution  of  them  to  that  end. 
To  adduce  a  case  somewhat  parallel,  which  may  illus- 
trate the  matter  in  hand.  It  is  clear  that  the  rainbow 
must  have  existed,  before  God  invested  it  with  a  relig- 
ious significance,  and  made  it  the  sign  of  His  Covenant. 
The  phenomen6n  is  produced,  as  is  well  known,  by  the 
refraction  of  the  rays  of  light,  when  striking  upon  the 
pendent  drops  of  the  shower ;  and  as  there  had  been 
copious  rain  during  the  period  of  the  flood  (and  doubt- 
less long  before  that  period, — for  "  the  mist  that  went 
up  from  the  earth,  and  watered  the  whole  face  of  the 
ground,"  was  the  exclusive  method  of  irrigation  in  Para- 
dise only)  ;  and  as  the  agency  of  light  had  been  in  oper- 
ation from  the  Creation,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the 
phenomenon,  which  is  the  combined  result  of  the  two, 
must  have  been  witnessed  by  human  eyes  before  God 
called  Noah's  attention  to  it.  '  But  never  before  God 
said,  "I  do  set"  (or  appoint — the  Hebrew  word  is  quite 
capable  of  this  translation,  without  any  straining  of  its 
meaning)  "  My  bow  in  the  clouds,"  was  the  rainbow 
the  sign  of  a  Divine  Covenant ;  never  before  did  it  pos- 
sess that  religious  meaning,  which  ever  since  it  has  had 
for  the  world  of  men.      So  with  the   Eucharistic   ele- 


DUCTOET.]       of  the  Holy  Coimmmion.  11 

ments.  They  had  been  used  before  in  Jewish  festivals, 
and  received  (as  all  food  was  wont  to  be  received  by  the 
Jews)  with  a  grace  and  words  of  thanksgiving.  But 
never  before  had  they  a  peculiar  meaning  in  connexion 
with  the  great  Covenant  of  Redemption.  Never  before 
did  they  preach  to  the  mind  of  man  through  the  eye  the 
great  doctrine  of  the  Atonement ;  still  less  did  the  parti- 
cipation of  them  ever  before  convey  to  the  soul  of  the 
faithful  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Crucified  Redeemer. 

And  now  to  what  practical  account  shall  we  turn 
these  reflections  on  the  historical  origin  of  the  Holy 
Communion  ? 

We  learn  a  lesson,  first,  respecting  the  gradual  growth 
and  expansion  of  Religious  Truth  among  men  ;  and, 
secondly,  respecting  the  possible  co-existence  of  Unity 
with  the  utmost  difference  of  Religious  Forms. 

1.  Christianity  was  not  strictly  an  original  Religion, 
either  in  its  doctrines,  precepts,  or  institutions.  It  grew 
out  of  a  preceding  dispensation  ;  its  holiest  rite  is  literally 
a  fragment,  torn  off'  from  an  old  Jewish  festival,  and  placed 
by  the  Saviour  in  what  I  may  call  a  sacramental  shrine. 
And  in  like  manner  this  preceding  dispensation  itself 
had  gone  on  growing.  The  original  promise  respecting 
the  Seed  of  the  Woman  formed  the  whole  religion  of 
Adam  and  Eve.  This  religion  received  gTeat  accession 
from  succeeding  promises  to  Abraham  and  his  descend- 
ants ;  it  made  a  great  shoot  at  the  giving  of  the  Law  on 
Mount  Sinai,  another  important  development,  when  the 
throne  of  David  was  established.  It  was  enlarged,  spii'- 
itualized,  every  way  improved, — yet  without  any  depart- 
ure from  the  old  platform, — by  the  ministry  of  the 
Prophets ;  until  at  length  the  Coming  One  came  forth 


12  The  Historical  Origin  [inteo- 

from  the  bosom  of  this  reh'gion,  as  it  was  waxing  old 
and  ready  to  vanish  away,  and  swept  aside  the  old  rudi- 
ments, and  pointed  out  to  men  the  true  teaching'  which 
was  underlying  them.  Yet  He  came  not  (if  we  may 
trust  His  own  description  of  the  object  of  His  Mission) 
"  to  destroy  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  but  to  fulfil 
them." 

Now,  as  there  were  developments  of  Judaism,  as 
time  went  on,  so  doubtless  there  have  been,  and  still  will 
be,  developments  of  Christianity.  Wherever  there  is 
life  there  is  growth  ;  and  wherever  the  religion  of  Christ 
has  a  real  living  hold  upon  the  minds  of  men,  those 
minds,  through  many  errors,  contradictions,  eccentrici- 
ties, heresies,  will  struggle  on  to  a  forward  movement. 
It  is  a  great  mistake,  whatever  their  temporary  irregu- 
larities may  be,  to  try  to  stifle  these  movements  either 
by  authority,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  or,  Avhich  is  the  same 
thing  (only  in  a  much  worse  form),  by  a  popular  hue 
and  cry.  You  cannot  stifle  them  without  stifling  the 
life  out  of  the  Church.  Controversies  and  theological 
movements  are  the  conditions  of  life  ;  and  the  essential 
condition  of  a  controversy  is,  that  one  of  the  combatants 
must  be  in  the  wrong ;  and  the  essential  condition  of  a 
theological  movement  is,  that  many  persons  who  throw 
their  weight  into  the  move  will  be  guilty  of  foolish  and 
un scriptural,  and  even  fanatical  extravagances.  It  is  of 
no  use  to  make  a  bonfire  of  them  at  the  stake,  or,  which 
is  the  modern  fashion  of  persecution,  to  hang  them  up 
on  the  gibbet  of  public  opinion.  As  well  might  you  say 
of  a  very  wild  mischievous  boy,  who  was  once  a  quiet 
and  docile  child,  "  I  shall  set  myself  to  stop  that  boy's 
growing,  make  him  grow  downwards,  and  put  him  back 
two  or  three  years  in  life."     You  cannot  make  him  stop 


DiJCTOEY.]       of  the  Holy  Communion.  13 

growing  without  killing  him.  Take  comfort,  then,  in 
the  distracting  movements  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
remember  that  there  is  One  presiding  over  those  move- 
ments, who  knows  how  to  -disentangle  Truth  from  error, 
to  sweep  away  the  rubbish  of  human  fancies,  and  estab- 
lish the  mind  of  man  in  what  is  sound  and  good.  Never 
was  better  counsel  given  respecting  novel  and  unfamiliar 
views  of  Eeligious  Truth,  than  that  of  Gamaliel  to  the 
Sanhedrim :  "  Refrain  from  these  men,  and  let  them 
alone  :  for  if  this  counsel  or  this  work  be  of  men,  it  will 
come  to  nought.  But  if  it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  over- 
throw it,  lest  haply  ye  be  found  even  to  fight  against 
God."  Yea  ;  God,  by  means  of  contradictions  and  her- 
esies, will  clear  His  Truth  to  the  minds  of  men,  will 
define  it  more  sharply,  will  make  it  better  understood 
and  appreciated  ;  for  until  a  truth  is  assaulted,  and  tested 
by  assault,  it  can  never  be  fully  apprehended. 

But  it  will  be  said,  "  Since  you  admit  that  Religious 
Truth  expands  *in  the  minds  of  men,  as  Time  goes  on, 
so  as  to  present  itself  in  new"  aspects,  and  to  develop 
itself  in  new  forms, — since  Christianity  itself  is  capable 
of  further  illustration  than  it  has  yet  received,  by  in- 
creased learning,  better  knowledge  of  the  language  of 
the  New  Testament,  new  evidences,  unearthed  by  Sci- 
ence, new  discoveries  (by  means  of  the  event)  of  the 
meaning  of  Prophecy,  and  so  forth ;  is  there  no  crite 
rion  by  which  we  may  distinguish  between  'true  and 
false  views  ?  Are  we  bound  to  take  up  with  any  extrav- 
agance or  fanaticism,  which  the  movement  of  the  relig- 
ious mind  of  our  time  may  throw  up  to  the  surface  ?  '* 
Not  so.  There  is  in  the  Volume  of  Holy  Scripture  a 
perfect  Canon  of  Religious  Truth.  "  To  the  law  and  to 
the  testimony ;  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this  word, 


14:  The  Historical  Origin  [mTEO- 

it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them."  '  Apply  the 
Canon  fairly  and  with  prayer,  discarding  all  prepossess- 
ions, and  giving  their  due  weight  to  counterbalancing 
truths,  and  whatever  may  be  *the  fancies  of  others,  your 
own  mind  is  perfectly  safe.  Where  Scripture  speaks 
unequivocally  and  copiously  (as  on  the  necessity  of  Re- 
pentance and  Faith,  the  duty  of  Prayer,  the  virtue  of 
Christ's  Atonement)  the  point  is  of  first-rate  magnitude 
and  primary  importance.  "Where  Scripture  makes  state- 
ments on  both  sides,  as  on  the  question  pending  between 
Calvinists  and  Arminians,  both  statements,  with  all  their 
logical  consequences,  must  be  accepted,  and  the  exact 
theoretical  adjustment  of  them  deferred  to  the  time,  when 
we  shall  see  fa-ce  to  face,  and  know  as  we  are  known. 
Where  the  Scriptural  argument  on  one  side  is  far  stronger 
than  on  the  other,  though  on  the  other  too  something 
may  be  said  (as  in  the  case  of  Episcopacy  and  Infant 
Baptism),  we  must  side  with  the  stronger  argument,  yet 
with  charity  to  those  who  maintain  the  weaker.  And 
where  Scripture  says  nothing  on  a  theological  topic,  we 
are  at  liberty  to  hold  any  pious  opinion,  as  a  private 
fancy,  so  as  it  does  not  contradict,  either  explicitly  or  by 
inference,  what  Scripture  does  say.  But  in  speaking 
thus  of  Scripture  as  a  criterion,  which,  if  fairly  applied, 
can  never  mislead,  common  sense  points  out  that  what  is 
meant  is,  Scripture  studied  in  its  original  languages,  and 
with  all  the  light  tvhich  learning,  and  especially  the  Tcnoiol- 
edge  of  primitive  antiquity,  can  throiv  upon  it.  He  who 
can  do  no  more  than  read  the  Bible  in  English  may 
doubtless,  under  the  teachiog  of  God's  Spirit,-save  his 
soul  alive  (which  indeed  he  might  do,  eveq,if  the  Bible 
were  torn  away  from  him,  by  believing  all  the  Articles 
of  the  Christian  Faith)  ;  but  surely  it  stands  to  reason 


DUCTOEY.]       of  the  Holy  Communion.  15 

that  such  a  man  is  in  no  position  to  settle  a  controversy 
or  to  determine  a  moot  point.  For  example,  in  the  con- 
troversjupon  Infant  Baptism,  most  persons  would  consider 
the  question  settled  at  once  by  the  practice  of  the  early 
Chui'ch  when  it  was  still  under  the  eye  of  the  Apostles. 
Did  they,  or  did  they  not  at  that  time  baptize  infants? 
The  New  Testament  gives  no  answer,  except  by  infer- 
ence. But  the  earliest  Fathers  give  a  very  explicit  an- 
swer. Justin  says,  for  example  (writing  about  forty 
years  after  the  Apostles),  that  "  certain  Christians  of 
sixty  or  seventy  years  of  age,  living  in  his  days,  were 
made  disciples  of  Christ  from  their  childhood."  Justin 
was  not  inspired ;  but  what  he  says  is  fair  historical  evi- 
dence in  favour  of  Infant  Baptism,  and  evidence,  it  is 
clear,  which  cannot  be  appreciated  by  a  person  who  has 
never  heard  of  Justin.  This,  however,  is  only  one  out 
of  numberless  instances  which  might  be  adduced,  to  show 
how  essential  sound  learning,  and  especially  a  knowledge 
of  Primitive  Christianity,  is  to  a  correct  interpretation 
of  Holy  Scripture.  Holding  fast  Scripture  as  thus  illus- 
trated, we  cannot  ourselves  make  any  great  error  in  con- 
troversy. And  amid  the  abounding  errors  and  contra- 
dictions of  the  day  we  may  comfort  ourselves  by  think- 
ing that  by  means  of  them  all,  God  is  really  showing  to 
His  Church  some  new  aspect  or  aspects  of  the  Truth. 
The  Truth  has  a  vitality  in  it  still ;  and  many  dry  rudi- 
ments of  it,  which  at  present  lie  dull  and  uninteresting 
in  our  minds,  are  yet  destined  to  expand  and  acquire  a 
new  significance. '  Let  the  mind  be  frankly  open  to  any 
and  every  Truth,  however  unfamiliar  to  us  the  first  view 
of  it,  which  may  turn  out  to  be  in  accordance  with  the 
teaching  of  the  Apostles. 

2.  But  a  moment  remains  to  follow  out  the  thouirht 


16  Tlie  Historical  Origin^  <&g.  [inteo- 

of  the  possible  co-existence  of  real  Unity  with  total  dif- 
ference of  form. 

There  has  been  a  Church  of  God,  ever  since  there 
was  a  promise  for  Faith  to  lay  hold  of;  but  .how  differ- 
ent the  forms  which  the  Church  has  taken  at  different 
stages  of  her  career  !  How  different  the  I.^aw  from  the 
Patriarchal  Religion,  the  Prophets  from  the  Law,  and 
Christianity  from  the  Prophets  !  How  different  the  mod- 
ern forms  of  Christianity  from  its  ancient  form  !  Look- 
ing to  mere  outward  circumstances  (which  do  not  the 
least  affect  the  essentials  of  the  Rite),  how  different  our 
present  mode  of  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper,  both 
from  the  primitive  Institution,  and  from  the  early  Chris- 
tians' practice,  according  to  which  it  Avas  connected  with 
a  love-feast !  Yet  our  hope  and  our  faith  is  the  same  as 
that  of  Apostles  and  Apostolic  men,  and  our  Sacraments 
are  essentially  one  with  theirs.  Unity  is  not  uniformity. 
Unity  is  harmony ;  uniformity  is  monotony.  Po  not 
stickle  for  uniformity,  as  long  as  unity  is  secured.  The 
having  the  same  order  of  Worship,  the  same  liturgical 
observances,  the  same  hymns  and  the  same  prayers  in 
the  same  method  of  arrangement, — friends,  the  Unity  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  does  not  consist  in  this.  Nay,  but 
in  the  spiritual  worship  of  one  Lord,  in  the  common  con- 
fession of  one  Faith,  in  the  filial  acknowledgment  of  one 
God  and  Father,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and 
in  us  all,  we  find  the  living,  growing  principles  which 
knit  together  the  different  members  of  the  Body  of 
Christ,  Jew  and  Greek,  male  and  female,  Barbarian, 
Scythian,  bond,  and  free, — which  cement  the  structure 
of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the  Communion  of  Saints, 
the  Jerusalem  built  as  a  city  that  is  at  Unity  in  itself. 


DUCTOET.]  Howit  fared  with  the  Eucharist^  &c.    17 


LECTUEE    II. 


now  IT  FAEED  WITH  THE  EUCHAEIST  WHILE  THE  IXSTITUTIOX 
WAS  STILL  UXDER  THE  EYE  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 


"  ZE]itXi  vt  come  toflctljcr  ti)crcforc  into  one  :pL-trc,  X\)\h  is  not  to 
eat  tiie  S-ovU's  supper.  jFov  in  entins,  cbcvD  one  tafeetl;  i)c== 
fore  otijer  Us  oton  supper :  anH  one  fs  Ijunsr)?,  anlr  anottjer  fs 
Urunlten.  2!BI)at»  tjabe  \}z  not  Ijouses  to  eat  anU  to  Urinft  m? 
or  trespise  ^e  tje  CfjureJ)  of  (S^oD  ?  "—1  Cor.  xi.  20—22. 

Iisr  our  last  lecture  we  took  a  view  of  tlie  Holy  Eu- 
charist in  its  cradle,  wrapped,  as  it  were,  in  its  Paschal 
swaddling-clothes.  We  now  open  the  second  chapter  of 
its  history.  This  second  chapter  is  drawn  from  the  no- 
tice of  it  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  as  celebrated  in  the  Co- 
rinthian Church. 

First,  it  is  important  to  observe  that,  on  St.  Paul's 
becoming  an  Apostle,  the  Institution  was  revealed  to 
him  by  our  Blessed  Lord.  Of  it,  as  of  other  matters 
more  purely  doctrinal,  he  could  say  with  truth,  "  I 
neither  received  it  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but 
by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ."  St.  Paul  was  to 
hand  down  or  deliver  to  all  the  Churches  of  his  planting, 
together  with  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel, 
this  Gospel  Institution.  And  accordingly  some  means 
must  be  taken  of  putting  him  in  this  respect  on  an  exact 
level  with  the  original  Apostles.  He  must  hear  from 
the  Lord  Himself  a  recital  of  what  took  place  at  the  last 
Supper,  and  must  receive  from  the  Lord's  own  lips  the 
Commission  which  gives  virtue  and  validity  to  the  Sacra- 
ment. A  transaction  so  important  is  not  to  be  transmit- 
ted to  him  through  the  medium  of  any  man's  memory ;, 


18    Hoio  it  fared  with  the  JEucharist  while   [inteo- 

it  is  to  come  to  him  pure  and  limpid  from  tlie  fountain- 
head  of  Truth .  And  accordingly  we  read  in  the  twenty- 
third  verse  of  the  chapter  before  us :  "  For  I  have  re- 
ceived of  the  Lord" — not  of  Peter,  or  John,  or  Matthew, 
not  even  through  their  instrumentality,  but  of  the  Lord — 
"  that  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  same  night  in  which  He  was  betrayed,  took 
bread," — and  then  follows  an  account  of  the  Institution, 
somewhat  more  exact  than  that  given  by  the  two  first 
Evangelists,  and  having  certain  original  touches  in  it,  as 
where  the  Lord  is  made  to  speak  of  His  Body  being 
"  hrohen  "  for  us,  and  where  the  cup  is  called  "  the  New 
Testament  in  His  Blood."  St.  Luke,  the  companion  of 
St.  Paul,  who  was  not  present  at  the  original  institution, 
has  evidently  drawn  his  account  from  the  Pauline  reve- 
lation, not  from  the  memory  of  the  eleven.  The  coinci- 
dence of  his  narrative  with  St.  Paul's  account  is  a  most 
interesting  trace  of  the  association  of  the  two  friends,  so 
often  incidentally  noticed  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

My  hearers,  what  shall  I  say  of  those  Institutes  of 
the  Christian  Religion,  to  which  a  glorified  Christ  refers 
in  a  glorified  state — institutes  upon  which  Pie  holds  a 
colloquy  from  heaven  with  his  newly-admitted  Apostle, 
in  the  solemn  stillness,  perhaps,  of  the  wilds  of  Arabia? 
Shall  I  say  of  such  Institutes  that  they  are  of  more  im- 
portance than  the  points  of  faith  and  practice,  which  He 
dwelt  upon  while  on  earth  ?  Nay  ;  without  going  thus 
far,  we  may  surely  say  that  any  matter  which  the  Lord 
Jesus,  not  content  with  adverting  to  it  in  the  course  of 
His  Ministry,  has  reiterated  from  heaven,-  must  be  a 
matter  of  the  utmost  moment  to  the  well-being  of  His 
Church.  And  if  there -be  any  among  my  hearers  who 
either  neglects  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  or 


DiJCTOET.]  the  Institution  icas  under  the  Apostles.  19 

thinks  meanly  of  it, — any  who  has  taken  up  with  that 
false  notion  of  the  popular  religionism,  that  in  Chris- 
tianity faith  is  every  thing,  and  Ordinance  nothing, — I 
charge  upon  him  to  observe  that  the  voice  prescribing 
the  Eucharist  Rite  is  a  voice  which  issues  forth  not 
merely  from  the  Passover-chamber,  but  also  from  the 
many  mansions  of  the  Father's  House,  and  that  the  form 
which  gives  utterance  to  this  voice  is  not  that  of  a  mian 
of  "  marred  visage,"  but  that  of  Him  whose  "  counte- 
nance is  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength,"  and  before 
whose  Resurrection-Glory  Apostles  fell  to  the  earth  con- 
founded. 

But  to  proceed  with  our  history  of  the  Eucharistic 
Rite. 

In  the  account  of  the  Natural  Creation  contained  in 
the  book  of  Genesis,  we  find  the  various  elements.  Light 
and  Darkness,  Vapours  and  Water,  Earth  and  Sea,  in  a 
state  of  confusion  at  first.  Afterwards  God  divides  the 
light  from  the  darkness,  the  clouds  from  the  waters,  the 
earth  from  the  sea,  disentangling  and  giving  them  dis- 
tinct spheres.  Something  very  analogous  to  this  we  find 
in  the  history  of*  the  Primitive  Church.  It  presents  to 
us  the  appearance  of  a  confused  state  of  things,  out  of 
which  order  and  method  of  arrangement  is  to  dawn 
gradually.  The  Apostles  at  first  have  charge  of  the 
temporal  as  well  as  the  spiritual  concerns  of  the  Church  ; 
but  afterwards  it  is  thought  better  that  the  administra- 
tion of  Church  alms  should  be  made  over  to  special  ofli- 
cers  called  deacons,  and  the  Apostles  be  left  at  liberty  to 
attend  wholly  to  spiritual  duties.  Inspiration  and  the 
extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  seem  to  have  been 
at  first  poured  indiscriminately  m^er  all  the  members  of 
the  Apostolic  Church.     "  Sons  and  daughters,"  "  young 


20    How  it  fared  with  the  Eucharist  while   [inteo- 

men  and  old,"  "  servants  and  handmaidens"  (i.  e.,  male 
and  female  slaves)  prophesied  in  those  days  and  spake 
with  tongnes.  And  accordingly  the  distinction  between 
ministers  and  people  was  not  then  by  any  means  so 
clearly  defined  as  it  is  now.  Acts  which  we  should 
reckon  ministerial  were  not  absolutely  restricted  to  per- 
sons holding  the  ministerial  office.  The  four  daughters 
of  St.  Philip  prophesied  ;  Priscilla,  as  well  as  Aquila, 
expounded  to  Apollos  the  way  of  God  -more  perfectly. 
Now-a-days  Inspiration  speaks  exclusively  through  the 
Bible,  which  is  its  sole  acknowledged  repository,  and 
the  office  of  Christian  teaching  is  considered  the  exclu- 
sive prerogative  of  those  who  are  set  apart  for  it  by  lay- 
ing on  of  hands.  Let  me  give  another  point,  looking  in 
the  same  direction.  The  Mother-Church  of  all  Churches 
— that  of  Jerusalemi — began  its  career  with  a  community 
of  goods.  "  JSTeither  said  any  of  them  that  ought  of  the 
things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own ;  but  they  had 
all  things  common."  It  was  a  beautiful  theory.  It  was 
the  realized  ideal  of  what  Christianity  would  make  so- 
ciety, if  its  principles  had  free  scope,  and  bore  undis- 
puted sway  in  every  heart.  But  it  was  not  an  ideal 
which  could  be  realized  ujDon  Earth  for  more  than  one 
halcyon  moment  of  the  Church's  existence,  when,  in  the 
earliest  morning  prime  of  spiritual  life,  heart  bounded 
to  meet  heart  in  Christian  love  and  joy.  The  case  of 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  soon  showed  that  this  arrange- 
ment of  community  of  goods  could  be  taken  advantage 
of  by  covetous  people  within  the  fold  of  Christ.  The 
offenders  were  made  examples  of;  and  after  that  time 
we  read  no  more  of  any  attempt  at  community  of  goods 
in  any  Church  ;  probably  even  in  the  Church  of  Jerusa- 
lem,  property  found   its   way  again  into   the   original 


DucTOEY.]  the  Institution  was  under  the  Apostles.  21 

hands,  and  the  poor  and  rich  became  once  more  distinct 
classes.  The  principle  of  brotherhood  in  Christ  exclud- 
ing all  social  distinctions  was  indeed  heavenly  and  divine  ; 
but  it  could  not  be  fully  carried  out  in  the  actual  life  of 
a  wicked  world,  nay,  nor  in  the  actual  life  of  an  Apos- 
tolic Church,  in  which  (although  Apostolic)  there  were 
tares  growing  side  by  side  with  the  wheat. 

Now  there  was  another  point,  besides  that  of  prop- 
erty, in  which  the  early  Christians  at  first  had  mutual 
fellowship.  Rich  and  poor  supped  together ;  ate  their 
daily  food  at  a  common  board.  The  plan  seems  to  have 
been  that  each  one  should  bring  with  him,  in  proportion 
to  his  means,  a  contribution  of  food,  which  was  to  be 
placed  upon  the  table  in  the  ujDper  room,  where  their 
assemblies  were  held,  and  partaken  of  in  common.  It 
was  natural — nay,  it  was  an  almost  certain  consequence 
from  the  circumstances  of  the  original  Institution — that 
the  Lord's  Supper  should  form  part  of,  and  be  celebrated 
in  the  course  of,  this  common  meal.  It  had  grown  out 
of  the  half-social,  half-religious  entertainment  of  the 
Passover ;  and  to  an  entertainment  of  a  social  character 
it  was  naturally  annexed  still.  AccQrdingly  it  is  inti- 
mated in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  there  was  a  daily 
celebration  of  the  Eucharist  in  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  ; 
daily  of  course  it  would  be,  because  the  supper,  or  chief 
meal,  must  recur  daily,  and  whenever  it  recurred,  being 
the  common  meal  of  Christians,  at  which  they  met  one 
another  as  Christians,  it  would  surely  be  sanctified  by 
the  appointed  Commemoration  of  the  Saviour's  dying 
Love.  So  we  read  :  "  They  continuing  daily  with  one 
accord  in  the  Temple"  (this  was  their  devotion  as  pious 
Jews),  "  and  breaking  bread  from  house  to  house"  (this 
was  their  devotion  as  pious  Christians),  ''  did  eat  their 


22    How  it  fared  with  the  Eucharist  while   [mxEo- 

meat"  (partook  of  food)  "  with  gladness  and  singleness 
of  heart."  There  was  a  simple  domestic  joy  about  those 
early  Eucharistic  meals,  which,  alas  !  was  soon  to  be  dis- 
sipated. 

For  just  as  the  crime  and  punishment  of  Ananias 
and  Sapphira  seem  to  have  exploded  the  community  of 
'property  in  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  so  certain  excesses 
in  the  Corinthian  Church,  in  connexion  with  the  common 
Eucharistic  meal, — excesses  punished  by  God's  temporal 
judgment,  and  severely  rebuked  by  His  Apostle, — grad- 
ually exploded  and  put  an  end  to  the  practice  of  combin- 
ing the  Sacrament  with  a  meal  at  all.  The  richer  Chris- 
tians, opening  their  basket  of  provisions,  and  not  waiting 
(it  appears)  till  the  whole  Christian  brotherhood  had  as- 
sembled, and  the  formal  thanksgiving  at  the  opening  of 
the  meal  had  been  said,  ate  and  drank  to  excess,  while 
the  poor  (more  especially  if  belated)  found  a  most  insuf- 
ficient supper.  We  open  our  eyes  wide  with  wonder  at 
a  desecration  so  totally  unfamiliar  to  ourselves,  so  impos- 
sible under  the  circumstances  of  the  Modern  Church ; 
but  the  fact  stands  on  record  in  language  altogether  plain 
and  incapable  of  being  mistaken :  "  When  ye  come  to- 
gether therefore  into  one  place,  this  is  not  to  eat  the 
Lord's  Supper.  For  in  eating  every  one  taketh  before 
other  his  own  supper  :  and  one  is  hungry,  and  another  is 
drunken." 

The  fact  was,  that  the  community  of  meals  among 
the  Christians,  and  the  association  of  the  Eucharist  wit! 
a  hand  fide  meal,  was  like  the  community  of  property,— 
a  beautiful  theory, — aye,  and  the  true  and  high  ideal  of 
Christian  Life  ;  but  a  theory  which  could  not  be  worked 
out,  and  an  ideal  which  it  was  impossible  to  realize  in 
an  actual  Church,  having  tares  in  it — that  is,  having  un- 


DUCTOET.]  the  Institution  was  under  the  Ajpostles.  23 

sound  Christians  iu  its  bosom.  So  experience  had  shown 
St.  Paul.  And,  accordingly,  he,  writing  under  the  in- 
spiration of  God,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the  Apostolic 
authority  given  him  by  Christ,  cuts  the  knot  Avhich  had 
hitherto  bound  together  the  meal  and  the  Eucharist,  and 
disentangles  for  ever  the  religious  from  the  social  element 
of  the  rite.  "  What,  have  ye  not  houses  to  eat  and  to 
drink  in?  "  "  If  any  man  hunger,  let  him  eat  at  home." 
Now,  as  a  meal  has  no  use  or  significance  except  when 
one  is  hungiy,  this  is  as  much  as  saying  that  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  no  more  to  form  part  and  parcel  of  a  meal. — 
With  which  word  of  Apostolic  authority,  the  religious 
element  of  the  Lord's  Supper  disentangled  itself  and  be- 
came a  separate  thing,  just  as  when  God  said,  "Let 
there  be  a  firmament  in  the  midst  of  the  waters,  and  let 
it  divide  the  waters  from  the  waters,"  the  light  vapours 
rose  from  the  aqueous  mass,  and  hung  suspended  in  the 
sky  under  the  name  of  clouds. 

There  was  a  time,  then,  as  we  have  seen, — the  time 
of  the  Church's  infancy, — when  the  supper  or  chief  daily 
meal  of  Christians  was  a  Sacrament.  Those  were  days 
of  great  spirituality,  intense  unction,  fervent  zeal,  warm 
love,  when  the  Brotherhood  of  Christians  was  as  yet 
white  as  snow  in  Salmon.  And  it  is  curious  to  observe 
how,  in  any  peculiarly  strong  glow  of  spiritual  feeling, 
the  strangeness  of  this  original  mixture  between  the  ideal 
*and  actual  life  of  Christians,  between  the  religious  and 
the  social,  between  the  meal  and  the  Sacrament,  vanishes. 
There  is  an  interestino;  anecdote  to  this  efiect  in  the  life 
of  Fletcher,  the  Vicar  of  Madeley,^  a  man  who  always 

^  The  anecdote  is  given  from  memory.    I  have  not  the  book  by 
me  to  verify  the  details. 


24  How  it  fared  with  the  Eucharist  while    [inteo- 

breathed  an  atmospliere  of  faith  and  love,  and  panted 
after  communion  witli  God  as  the  hart  after  the  water- 
brooks.  Towards  the  end  of  his  life,  when  his  soul  was 
filled  and  his  countenance  radiant  with  love  and  joy,  two 
friends  (onie  of  whom  was  the  narrator)  came  to  Madeley 
from  a  distance  to  visit  him.  Hearing  of  their  arrival, 
and  knowing  the  ride  was  a  long  one,  he  ordered  the 
servant  to  bring  them  some  refreshment,  and  hastened 
out  into  the  yard  to  greet  them  as  they  were  dismounting. 
Both  were  men  of  devout  minds,  to  whom  he  might  say 
the  things  of  which  his  heart  was  full,  and  while  they 
were  engaged  in  putting  up  their  horses,  the  good  Vicar 
spoke  to  them  of  spiritual  topics,  and  particularly  of  the 
Love  of  Clii'ist,  and  of  the  necessity  of  our  being  conformed 
to  His  image.  He  spoke  out  of*  the  abundance  of  his 
h^art,  with  an  eye  kindling  and  a  face  flushing,  as  he 
pursued  those  great  themes  ;  and  his  tw^o  guests,  knowing 
him  to  be  doomed  by  his  disease  to  death,  and  to  be  then 
hastening  to  a  speedy  vision  of  his  Lord,  on  whose 
praises  he  was  so  eloquent,  caught  the  spiritual  conta- 
gion, and  were  lifted  up  for  the  time  being  into  a  higher 
mioral  atmosphere.  At  this  juncture  the  servant  entered 
with  refreshments,  which  happened  to  be  bread  and 
wine.  Fletcher  catching  sight  of  them,  seemed  seized 
by  an  uncontrollable  impulse,  and  breaking  the  bread  and 
pouring  out  the  wine,  delivered  it  to  them  with  the  cus- 
tomary Eucharistic  formulary  :  "  The  Body  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  which  was  given  for  thee  ;  the  blood  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  shed  for  thee." 

The  narrator  adds  w^ords  to  this  effect,  that,  so  far 
from  being  revolting  or  having  the  appearance  of  desecra- 
tion, it  was  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  Sacrament 
he -had  ever  received.     We  can  well  understand  it.     The 


DUCTORT.]  the  Instihition  was  under  the  Ajjostles.  25 

action  must  not  of  course  be  drawn  into  a  precedent  by- 
men  like  ourselves,  who  live  on  a  very  low  level  of  spir- 
itual attainment.  But  in  Fletcher  and  his  friends  it  was 
neither  h}^ocritical  nor  irreverent.  When  men  are  in  a 
high  state  of  spiritual  feeling,  amounting  almost  to  ecstasy, 
the  exuberant  devotion  of  their  hearts  will  sometimes 
break  through  the  usual  forms  of  reUgious  observance, 
and  mix  itself  up  with  their  daily  life  and  common  inter- 
course. In  such  a  mood  they  take  no  heed  of  circum- 
stantials :  every  thing  is  sanctified  in  their  eyes  ;  a  stable 
becomes  to  them  (was  not  Jesus  born  in  a  stable?)  a 
Church,  and  a  refreshment  becomes  a  Eucharist.  After 
all,  it  is  only  a  momentary  return  to  the  quite  primitive 
state  of  things,  before  the  Sacrament  was  disconnected 
from  the  meal,  the  state  of  things  depicted  in  the  verse 
already  quoted :  "  And  they  continuing  daily  with  one 
accord  in  the  Temple,  and  breaking  bread  from  house  to 
house,  did  eat  their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness 
of  heart." 

So  many  useful  and  interesting  reflections  arise  from 
what  has  been  said,  that  it  is  hard  to  find  room  for  them 
all.     We  must  select  two  or  three  from  the  mass. 

1.  Observe  that  St.  Paul,  while  he  forbids  the  Eu- 
charist to  be  partaken  of  as  a  meal,  and  for  the  satisfac- 
tion of  hunger,  still  stoutly  maintains  its  social  character, 
and  indicates  how  appropriately  this  social  character  of 
the  Ordinance  is  emblematized  by  the  holy  ^  loaf.     One 

^  This  expression  is  not  my  own.  It  comes  from  the  first  Prayer 
Book  of  King  Edward  the  Sixth,  in  which  the  fifth  Rubric  after  the 
Communion  runs  thus  : — 

"And  forasmuch  as  the  Pastors  and  Curates  within  this  realm 
shall  contmually  find  at  their  costs  and  charges  in  their  cures  suf- 
2 


26    How  it  fared  with  the  Eucharist  while    [intro- 

Loaf  is  broken  and  distributed  among  many  ;  all  partake 
of  and  assimilate  it,  and  so  become  one  Body,  the  Body  of 
Christ,  which  is  by  all  assimilated.  Hence  the  Eucharist 
is  a  Sacrament  of  our  Communion  with  one  another,  no 
less  than  of  our  Communion  with  Christ.  "  For  we 
being  many  are  one  bread  [one  loaf],  and  one  body ;  for 
we  ai'e  all  partakers  of  that  one  loaf."  Hence  our  excel- 
lent Reformers,  in  purifying  the  old  missal,  have  shown 
themselves  extremely  jealous  of  the  social  character  of 
the  rite.  Even  in  the  case  of  administration  to  a  sick 
person,  it  is  so  prescribed  that  three,  or  two  at  the  least, 
must  communicate  with  him  ;  and  in  the  public  Office  we 
find  this  rubric  :  "  If  there  be  not  above  twenty  persons 
in  the  Parish  of  discretion  to  receive  the  Communion ; 
yet  there  shall  be  no  Communion,  except  four  (or  three 
at  the  least)  communicate  with  the  Priest."  Private 
masses,  at  which   the  Priest   alone   communicated,  al- 

fieicnt  bread  and  wine  for  the  Holy  Communion  (as  oft  as  their 
Parishioners  shall  be  disposed  for  their  spiritual  comfort  to  receive 
the  same),  it  is  therefore  ordered,  that  in  recompense  of  such  costs 
and  charges,  the  Parishioners  of  every  Parish  shall  offer  every  Sun- 
day, at  the  time  of  the  Offertory,  the  just  value  and  price  of  the  holy 
loaf  (with  all  such  money  and  other  things  as  were  wont  to  be 
offered  with  the  same),  to  the  use  of  their  Pastors  and  Curates,  and 
that  in  such  order  and  course  as  they  were  wont  to  find  and  pay  the 
said  lioly  loafy 

The  expression  is  a  pleasing  one.  But  it  should  be  remembered 
that  our  word  "  loaf"  does  not  give  an  exact  idea  of  the  form  of  the 
Passover  Cakes.  I  take  the  word  "  loaf"  (Germ.  Leib)  to  mean  ety- 
mologieally  a  lump  or  mass ;  whereas  the  Passover  Cakes  were  flat, 
round,  and  thin.  Perhaps  the  form  of  the  Eomish  Wafer  was 
originally  suggested  by  that  of  the  Passover  Cakes,  though  the  ac- 
count usually  given  of  the  form  of  the  Wafer  is,  that  it  was  intended 
to  represent  the  Denarius  (or  Roman  Penny),  in  reference  to  the 
pieces  of  silver  for  which  our  Lord  was  sold. 


DUCTOEY.]  the  Institution  was  under  the  Apostles.  27 

together  obscured  this  social  feature  of  the  rite,  and  so, 
as  our  Reformers  rightly  thought,  imperilled  its  vitality. 
But  no  mere  formal  provision  of  the  Ritual  can  secui^e 
that  true  union  of  heart  and  sympathy  with  our  brother 
Christians,  by  which  alone  we  can  give  to  our  Com- 
munions a  really  social  character.  Do  we  resort  to 
them  in  a  spirit  of  great  kindliness  to  Others,  "  forbearing 
one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another,  if  any  man  have 
a  quarrel  against  any  ?  "  But  even  forbearance  is  only 
negative.  Are  we  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  wants, 
trials,  weaknesses,  necessities  of  our  fellow-Christians, 
not  merely  from  the  dictates  of  a  natural  compassion 
(which  a  heathen  might  be  actuated  by) ,  but  from  a  dis- 
cerninof  acknowledgment  of  their  brotherhood  with  us  in 
one  Faith,  one  Hope,  one  Baptism,  one  Adoption,  one 
Redemption?  Do  we  pray  for  them ?  And,  specially  in 
the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion,  do  we  refer 
their  wants  and  wishes,  no  less  than  our  own,  to  God,  or 
coop  ourselves  up  in  the  narrow  range  of  our  own  con- 
cerns and  sympathies  ?  I  believe  that  a  vast  share  of 
the  Blessing  of  Public  Ordinances  of  Religion  gener- 
ally is  altogether  missed  and  forfeited,  because  men  vnH. 
resort  to  them  as  Private  Ordinances,  thinking  only  of 
their  own  case,  and  not  making  an  effort  to  throw  them- 
selves with  an  expansive  sympathy  into  the  case  of 
others. 

2.  A  word  may  be  appropriately  .  said  upon  the 
ordinary  social  meals  of  Christians.  The  Eucharist  has 
now  been  torn  away  from  them,  and  placed  in  a  shrine 
of  its  own,  removed  from  the  possibility  of  desecration. 
But  it  were  devoutly  to  be  w^ished  that  we  could  see  the 
stamp  of  the  Eucharist, — its  image  and  superscription, — ■ 
resting  upon  all  our  social  receptions  of  food.     Still  the 


28    How  it  fared  with  the  Eucharist  while    [inteo- 

rule  holds  good  that  we  are  to  sanctify  our  necessary  and 
common,  no  less  than  our  religious  actions,  that  "  whether 
we  eat  or  drink,  or  whatever  we  do,  we  are  to  do  all  to 
the  glory  of  God."  The  utmost  mirthfuluess  of  heart 
and  of  conversation  may  thus  be  sanctified,  so  long  as 
nothing  is  said  which  trespasses  on  the  bounds  of 
modesty,  reverence,  and  charity ;  for  our  Loed  Himself 
was  present  at  a  Wedding  Festival, — and  a  Festival  at 
which  it  is  clear  from  the  narrative  that  conviviality  had 
reached  a  considerable  height.  Do  we  sanctify  our 
social  entertainments  by  striving  to  realize  His  Presence 
at  them,  and  thus  by  bidding  Him  to  the  Board?  And 
last,  but  not  least,  how  is  grace  said?  Is  it  sometimes 
forgotten  altogether  ?  oftener  still  mechanically  and  rapid- 
ly recited,  without  even  a  momentary  uplifting  of  the 
heart?  Are  not  the  ordinary  graces  (I  only  throw  this 
out  for  consideration)  somewhat  too  short  to  take  hold 
of  the  mind?  Is  it  not  the  case  often  with  well-disposed 
persons  that  the  grace  is  over  before  the  attention  can 
rally?  Beautiful  at  all  events  are  those  longer  graces 
once  in  popular  use,  but  which  have  now  retreated  into 
the  devout  seclusion  of  the  Academy,  in  which  according 
to  the  true  old  fashion  the  form  is  interspersed  with 
responds,  simply  said  on  common  days,  and  on  certain 
high  festivals  of  the  Church  sweetly  sung  ? 

3.  It  is  well  by  every  means  in  om'  power  to  strive 
to  sanctify  common  life,  and  ordinary  engagements.  It 
is  not  only  well,  it  is  necessary.  No  man  is  really  relig- 
ious at  all  who  withdraws  any' part  of  his  ordinary  life 
fi^m  the  influence  and  control  of  Keligion,  and  confines 
his  Devotion  to  certain  seasons  and  certain  localities. 
And  yet  there  is  a  wholesome  warning  for  us  all  in  the 
disentanglement  of  the  Holy  Communion  from  the  social 


DrcTORT.]  the  Institution  was  under  the  Apostles.  29 

meal  witli  which  it  had  once  been  associated  ;  and  there 
is  great  truth  and  significance  in  the  wise  man's  admoni- 
tion, "To  every  thing  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to 
every  purpose  under  the  heaven."  Among  certain 
religionists,  there  may  be  observed  a  sort  of  interlacing 
of  the  secular  with  the  spiritual ;  a  parade  of  religious 
topics  where  they  are  sure  to  be  unfavourably  received  ; 
proposals  for  prayer  where  the  occasion  and  circum- 
^stantials  are  unsuitable,  and  the  minds  of  the  persons  to 
whom  it  is  proposed  are  not  in  tune  for  it ;  an  unreserved 
manner  of  throwing  abroad  Divine  Truth  in  ordinary 
conversation ;  all  which  in  theory  is  right,  and  in  an 
ideal  state  of  things  would  find  place,  but  in  the  actual 
state  of  the  Church  and  the  world  is  likely  only  to  shock 
the  one,  and  to  incur  the  ridicule  of  the  other.  That  these 
considerations  should  have  weight  with  us,  we  are  taught 
by  those  words  of  Him,  who  spake  as  never  man  spake : 
"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast 
ye  your  pearls  before  swine,  lest  they  trample  them 
under  their  feet,  and  turn  again  and  rend  you."  There 
is  a  great  necessity  for  holy  discrimination,  and  a  greater 
still  for  a  spirit  of  deeper  religious  reverence,  if  we  pro- 
pose to  introduce  spiritual  topics  in  general  conversation. 
There  is  a  feeling,  innate  in  every  human  mind,  of  the 
distinctness  between  the  sacred  and  the  secular,  which 
you  will  only  do  harm  if  you  rudely  violate.  And  it  is  a 
true  and  just  feeling,  under  the  present  economy  of 
things,  which  is  necessarily  imperfect.  That  the  Lord's 
Day  should  be  esteemed  above  ordinary  days  ;  that  the 
Church,  or  place  of  assembly  for  Christ's  flock,  should  be 
esteemed  above  a  common  house  (a  sentiment,  by  the 
way,  plainly  in  accordance  with  the  mind  of  St.  Paul  in 
our  text:  "  What?  have  ye  not  houses  to  eat  and  drink 


30        How  it  fared  with  the  Eucharist,  <&€. 

in  ?  or  despise  ye  the  Church  of  God  ?  ")  ;  that  one  class 
of  men  should  be  regarded  as  set  apart  for  sacred  func- 
tions, upon  which  functions  ordinary  men*  may  not  law- 
fully intrude, — all  these  feelings  and  habits  of  thought 
are  the  very  safeguards  of  Religion  in  the  minds  of  man- 
kind at  large,  and,  as  being  so,  must  not  be  disregarded 
or  dealt  rudely  with.  Under  the  present  Dispensation 
things  sacred  must  of  necessity  be  separate  from  common 
things  ;  and  God's  Ordinance  has  made  them  so.  Be  it. 
ours  by  faith  and  hope  to  anticipate,  and  by  spiritual 
diligence  to  hasten  on  that  happier  period,  when  every 
day  shall  be  a  Sabbath  of  rest,  spent  in  the  sunshine  of 
Christ's  countenance ;  when  there  shall  be  no  more  any 
temple,  because  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb 
are  the  temple  of  the  Heavenly  City ;  Avhen  all  shall  be 
priests  alike,  and  offer  continually  the  sacrifice  of  Praise  ; 
when,  finally,  the  Lord  shall  drink  with  us  the  new  wine 
of  spiritual  joy  at  the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb  ;  and 
the  sacramental  memorial  of  Him  shall  be  superseded  by 
His  visible  Presence  in  glory. 


PAET    I. 

THE      CHURCH-YARD, 


LECTUEE  I. 

OF  THE  lord's  PRATER  AND  THE  COLLECT  FOR  PURITY. 

♦♦2Li)c  5cavt  IS  trrccitfiil  tiljobe  all  tijingsf,  anti  ncsjpcvc-itclj)  toidtctr: 
iril)o  tnn  fenoh)  it  ?  £  tjc  3ioxXi  scaixf)  tljc  Ijcait.  £  tvi)  tl)e 
reins.** — Jer.  xvii.  9,  10. 

In  the  Cathedral,  and  often  in  the  Parish  Churcli  of 
our  country,  there  are  several  stages  of  approach  to  the 
immediate  precinct,  in  which  stands  the  Table  of  the 
Lord,  the  point  of  sight  for  all  the  worshippers.  First, 
there  is  the  Choir  (or  Chancel),  which  at  its  further  end 
contains  this  precinct ;  then  there  is  the  Transept ;  and 
finally  the  Nave.  But  around  the  building  itself  often 
lies  a  consecrated  Burial  Ground,  at  the  entrance  of 
which  the  Minister  in  the  Order  for  the  Burial  of  the 
Dead  is  directed  to  meet  the  corpse. 

The  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion,  on  the  considera- 
tion of  which  we  enter  to-day,  has  similarly  several  stages 
of  approach  into  its  inmost  sanctuary.  The  culminating 
act  of  the  vrhole  Ser\-ice  is,  of  course,  the  consecration 
and  participation  of  the  Elements.  But  towards  this 
act  there  are  several  advances.  There  is  the  "  Ter- 
sanctus,"  or  Seraphic  Hymn  of  Praise,  with  the  Pray- 
er of  Access.  There  are  the  Comfortable  Words, 
by  which  we  lift  ourselves  up  to  Praise, — resembling 
(  2- 


34  Of  the  Lorcfs  Prayer  [part 

the  steps  by  which  we  pass  up  into  the  choir.  There 
is  the  Exhortation,  Confession,  and  Absohition, — the 
more  immediate  preparation,  which  may  correspond 
with  the  transept.  Then  comes  that  portion  of  the 
Ofhce,  at  Avhich  non-communicants  may  be  present,  em- 
bracing the  Collect,  Epistle,  and  Gospel,  Creed,  Sermon, 
Offertory,  and  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant.  What 
remains  may  be  properly  called  the  earlier  preparation, 
corresponding  to  the  church-yard  which  lies  around  the 
sacred  edifice.  It  consists  of  the  Ten  Commandments, — 
the  Law,  which  in  its  condemning  power  is  to  real  Chris- 
tians dead  and  buried,  and  cannot  harm  them.  And  to 
this  Burial-ground  of  the  Decalogue,  which  solemnizes 
the  mind  by  its  grave  and  stern  associations,  we  dre  ad- 
mitted by  a  little  gate  or  porch,  consisting  of  two  short 
Prayers.  It  is  in  this  Porch  that  we  shall  place  ourselves 
to-day,  to  survey  its  construction. — The  above  illustra- 
tion is,  I  readily  grant,  drawn  from  the  fancy.  Still  it 
may  be  useful,  if  it  serve  to  show  the  great  care  with 
which  our  Church  seeks  to  prepare  us  for  the  highest 
ordinance  of  Religion,  and  the  gradual  approaches,  by 
which  she  leads  the  mind  towards  the  inner  sanctuary 
of  these  holy  mysteries.  I-Ier<^  w«.  have  fence  within 
fence,  preparation  within  pr^aration.  And  the  lesson 
is,  of  course,  "  If  you  desire  to  communicate  w^orthily, 
see  that  you  get  your  mind  in  order."  These  arrange- 
ments are  the  faithful  echo  made  by  our  Church  to  that 
inspired  warning  :  "  Let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so 
let  him  eat  of  that  bread,  and  drink  of  that  cap." 

The  Lord's  Prayer  opens  the  office  of  the  Communion. 
We  shall  not  enter  at  all  into  tlie  matter  or  substance  of 
this  Divine  Prayer,  as  that  would  divert  us  at  much  too 
great  length  from  our  present  purpose,  but  confine  our- 


I.]  and  the  Collect  for  Purity.  36 

selves  to  a  few  remarks  on  the  position  wliieli  it  holds. 
The  Lord's  Prayer  may  be  regarded  in  two  distinct 
lights,  as  a  summary  of  Prayer  and  as  a  model  of  Prayer. 
In  the  first  of  these  lights  it  is  the  modern  fashion  to  re- 
gard it,  and  under  this  view  it  is  naturally  introduced, 
not  at  th©  beginning,  but  at  the  end  of  Prayer.  We  feel 
(and  the  feeling  is  most  just)  that  our  Prayers  are  im- 
perfect at  best,  and  greatly  need  supplementing  by  some 
form  in  which  there  are  no  defects  ;  that  we  omit  often- 
times through  haste  or  ignorance,  or  superficiality  of 
mind,  to  petition  for  some  things  which  may  be  most  de- 
sirable for  us  ;  and  so  at  the  end  of  pur  Private  Prayers, 
or  at  the  end  of  oar  Family  Prayers,  we  recite  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  as  summing  up  all  that  we  can  want  or  wish  for 
in  a  few  pregnant  words.  A  curious  instance,  by  the 
way,  of  the  different  line  in  which  modern  and  ancient 
thought  travel,  even  where  both  are  equally  correct. 
The  Prayer  Book  never  introduces  the  Lord's  Prayer  at 
the  close  of  any  Service ;  it  is  always  either  at  the  open- 
ing, as  is  here,  or  at  the  opening  of  a  separate  section  of 
the  office  (like  the  Post-communion).  The  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer  were  formerly  opened  with  the  versicle 
and  respond,  "O  Lord,  open  Thou  my  lips,"  ''And  my 
mouth  shall  show  forth  Thy  praise,"  which  was  immedi- 
ately followed  by  the  Lord's  Prayer  ;  and  it  was  the  Re- 
formers who  thought  it  expedient  to  prefix  a  short  intro- 
duction, consisting  of  the  Sentences,  Exhortation,  Con- 
fession, and  Absolution.  If  this  introduction  be  reorarded 
as  only  proparatory,  our  Morning  and  Evening  Office 
may  be  said  still  to  open  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  as  does 
the  Communion  Office. — Now  this  position  of  the  Prayer 
shows  that  it  is  regarded  as  a  model  rather  than  as  a 
summary.     The  painter  who  is  copying  a  picture,  the 


36  Of  the  Lord's  Prayer  [rART 

sculptor  who  is  copying  a  bust,  in  the  first  instance  sets 
before  him  that  which  he  designs  to  copy.  This  being 
done,  he  casts  from  time  to  time  his  eyes  upon  his  model^ 
and  guides  his  hand  accordingly.  Now  this  was  the 
view  which  the  Ancient  Church  (and  our  l^iturgy,  gen- 
erally speaking,  represents  to  us  the  views  of  the  Ancient 
Church)  took  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  It  was  a  perfect 
model  to  be  placed  before  the  mind  for  imitation,  and 
therefore  to  be  recited  in  the  first  instance,  or  at  each 
fresh  section  of  the  service,  and  to  be  reverted  to  men- 
tally throughout.  This  is  not  the  only  viev/  which  may 
be  taken  of  the  Prayer,  but  it  is  a  most  true,  and  just, 
and  Scriptural  view.  Let  us  imbibe  it,  if  we  have  not 
yet  done  so,  and  embody  it  in  our  practice.  Let  us  not 
rest  content  with  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  as  a  form. 
Let  us  consider  how  Ave  can  bring  our  own  private  pray- 
ers into  a  closer  conformity  with  the  model.  Let  us  bear 
in  mind  that  the  Lord's  Prayer  teaches  us  not  only  Avhat 
to  pray  for,  but  also,  if  I  may  so  say,  what  should  be  the 
proportions  of  our  prayers.  From  the  order  of  the  pe- 
titions we  learn  the  blessings  which  we  should  most  covet, 
and  from  the  spu^ituality  of  the  greater  number  of  them  we 
learn  how  sparing,  modest,  and  reserved  should  be  our 
prayers  for  earthly  blessings.  And  let  me  recommend, 
as  a  method  of  counteracting  our  partial  tendencies  in 
Priayer,  that  we  should,  from  time  to  time,  in  our  private 
devotions  enlarge  up^n  the  Lord's  Prayer  by  way  of 
paraphrase.  As  in  religious  thought  generally,  so  in 
Prayer  particularly,  we  are  sadly  apt  to  run  in  our  own 
groove  ;  and  thus  the  frequent  recurrence  to  and  study 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  very  desirable,  as  tending  to  give 
us  a  larger  and  more  comprehensive  range  of  sympathies. 


I.]  and  the  Collect  for  Purity.  37 

We  now  come  to  the  opening  Collect  of  the  Com- 
munion, which,  together  with  the  Lord's  Prayei',  formed 
anciently  the  priest's  private  preparation  for  the  Office, 
which  he  was  to  repeat  secretly.  By  our  present  ar- 
rangementSiit  is  to  be  said  openly  and  aloud,  that  all  may 
participate  in  this  preliminary  act  of  devotion.  It  will 
be  well  in  the  first  instance  to  lay  before  you  the  frame- 
work on  which  those  wonderful  compositions  called  Col- 
lects are  constructed,  that  we  may  see  how  the  parts  of 
this  Prayer  are  connected,  and  what  is  the  one  thought 
which  knits  together  its  various  clauses  in  unity.  The 
ground-plan,  then,  of  a  Collect  is  as  follows.  After  the 
invocation,  a  foundation  is  laid  for  the  petition  by  the 
recital  of  some  doctrine,  or  of  some  fact  of  Gospel  his- 
tory, which  is  to  be  commemorated.  Upon  this  founda- 
tion so  laid  dowQ  rises  the  petition  or  body  of  the  Prayer. 
Then  in  a  perfect  specimen,  like  the  Collect  before  us,  the 
petition  has  the  win^s  of  a  holy  aspiration  given  to  it, 
whereupon  it  may  soar  to  Heaven.  Then  follows  the 
conclusion,  which,  in  the  case  of  Prayers  not  addressed 
to  the  Mediator,  is  always  through  the  Mediator,  and 
which  sometimes  involves  a  doxology  or  ascription  of 
praise. — In  the  present  Collect,  the  doctrine  upon  which 
the  petition  is  based  is  that  unto  God  "  all  hearts  are 
open,  and  all  desires  known,"  and  that  from  Him  "  no 
secrets  are  hid."  The  petition  based  ui:)on  this  doctrine 
is,  that  He  would  "  cleanse  the  thoughts  of  our  heart  by 
the  inspiration  of  His  Holy  Spirit."  And  finally  the 
aspiration  in  which  the  mind  contemplates  the  glorious 
result  of  the  Prayer, — ^the  aspiration  which  lends  wings 
to  the  petition,  and  lifts  it  up  to  Heaven,  is, — "that  we 
may  perfectly  love  Thee,  and  worthily  magnify  Thy 
Holy  Name." 


38  Of  the  Lord^s  Prayer  [paet 

Now  in  considering  these  several  parts  of  our  Collect, 
we  will  take  the  aspiration  first,  and  so  work  backwards. 
"  That  we  may  perfectly  love  Thee,  and  worthily  mag- 
nify Thy  Holy  Name." 

The  magnification  of  God's  Holy  Name, — that  is, 
the  telling  forth  how  great  He  is,  in  concert  with  the 
Holy  Angels, — is  just  what  we  are  about  to  enter  upon. 
The  Holy  Communion  is  (as  we  call  it  in  one  of  the 
Post-communion  prayers)  "  a  sacrifice  of  Praise  and 
Thanksgiving,"  and  accordingly,  when  the  office  is  mount- > 
iug  to  its  climax,  we  join  our  voices  with  those  of  the 
Seraphim  who  stand  around  the  throne,  and  cry  one  to 
another  (setting  forth  the  moral  grandeur  and  the  glory 
of  our  God),  "  lioly.  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty ; 
Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  Thy  glory :  Glory  be  to 
Thee,  0  Lord  most  High."  And  in  the  close  of  the 
Office  is  equally  heard  the  key-note  of  high  praise  and 
magnification.  For  as  after  the  first  Institution  of  the 
Ordinance  the  Divine  Master  and  His  disciples  sang  an 
hymn,  before  tliey  went  out  unto  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
so  before  the  final  blessing  we  join  in  the  morning  hymn^ 
of  the  early  Christians,  which  begins  with  the  Anthem 
of  the  Angels  at  the  Nativity,  "  Glory  be  to  God  on 
high,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  towards  men." 

One  chief  aspect  then  of  the  whole  Service  being 
Thanksgiving, — nay,  the  very  word  "  Eucharist,"  which 
was  in  early  times^  appropriated  to  this  Ordinance,  mean- 

^  This  hymn  was  used  in  the  time  of  Athanasius  (early  part  of 
the  fourth  century),  as  part  of  the  Morning  Sem'ice  for  every  clay. 

^  Ignatius  (supposed  to  have  been,  "with  Polycarp,  a  disciple  of 
St.  John)  is  probably  the  first  uninspired  writer  who  speaks  of  the 
Holy  Communion  as  the  Euchai-ist.  See  his  epistle  to  the  Smynicsans, 
eh.  vi.,  where  he  says  of  certain  heretics,  against  whom  he  is  writing, 
'*  They  abstain  from  Eucharist  and  Prayer,  because  they  confess  not  the 


I.]  and  the  Collect  for  Purity.  39 

ing  "  Thanl^sgiving  Service,"  we  reasonably  place  tliis 
aspect  of  it  before  ns  at  the  outset,  and  offer  a  fervent 
aspiration  to  Almiglity  God,  that  as  we  are  about  to 
magnify  His  Name,  we  may  magnify  it  "  wortbily." 

Eucharist  to  be  the  flesh  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  which  suffered  for 
our  sins,  and  which  the  Father,  of  His  goodness,  raised  from  the  dead." 

Again,  to  the Philadelphians,  ch.  iv.,  "Let  it  be  your  endeavour  to 
partake  of  one  (and  the  same)  Eucharist ;  for  one  is  the  flesh  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  one  the  Cup  for  the  Communion  of  His 
Blood." 

In  the  above  passages  it  would  seem  as  if  the  Elements  them- 
selves were  called  the  Eucharist. 

In  the  following  passages  the  Service  seems  to  be  so  called  : — 

"  Let  that  be  accounted  a  vaUd  Eucharist,  which  is  under  the 
Bishop,  or  him  to  whom  the  Bishop  shall  entrust  the  administration." 
Smyrn.  viii. 

"Endeavour  then  more  frequently  to  assemble  for  Eucharist  of 
God  "  (the  Thanksgiving  Service  to  God),  "  and  for  His  glory." 
Eph.  xiii. 

"  We  have,  however,"  says  Mr.  Palmer  in  his  Origines  Litm'gicce, 
"  an  earlier  allusion  to  the  Liturgy,  under  the  title  of  Eucharist^  or 
Thanksgiving,  in  the  first  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians, 
where,  in  forbidding  and  reasoning  against  the  practice  of  some  per- 
sons, who  used  the  miraculous  gift  of  tongues  in  an  improper  man- 
ner, namely,  by  celebrating  the  Liturgy  in  an  unknown  language,  he 
says,  '  When  thou  shalt  hless  with  the  Spirit,  how  shall  he  that  occu- 
picth  the  room  of  the  unlearned  say  Amen  at  thy  giving  of  thanks, 
seemg  he  understandeth  not  what  thou  sayest  ?  '  The  meaning  of 
this  passage  is  obvious :  '  If  thou  shalt  bless  the  Bread  and  Wine  in 
an  unknown  language,  which  has  been  given  to  thee  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  how  shall  the  layman  say  Amen  at  the  end  of  thy  Thanks- 
givmg  (Eucharist),  seeing  he  understandeth  not  what  thou  sayest  ? ' " 
The  same  view  is  taken  of  this  passage  of  St.  Paul  by  Professor 
Blunt  and  Canon  Wordsworth.  That  the  Apostle  is  alluding  to  the 
Holy  Communion  seems  probable  from  Justin's  description  of  its 
administration  in  the  Primitive  Church : — 

"  Bread  is  brought  to  the  president  of  the  assembly,  and  a  cup 
of  water  and  wine,  and  having  received  it,  he  puts  up  praise  and 


40  Of  the  Lord's  Prayer  [paet 

But  how  shall  this  be  ?     We  cannot  worthily  mag- 
nify God's  Holy  Natae,  unless  we  love  Him  truly.    All 
magnification  of  His  Name  which  does  not  spring  from 
true  love,  must  necessarily  be  hollow-hearted,  insincere, 
hypocritical,  rotten  at  the  core.     And  thus  the  latter  part 
of  our   aspiration,  "  that  we  may  worthily  magnify  Thy 
Holy -Name,'"'  tlirows  us  back  upon  the  former,  "  that  we 
may  perfectly'!  (that  is,  sincerely,  and  with  all  our  pow- 
ers) "  love  Thee."     Then  what  is  the  true  love  of  God, 
for  which  we  here  pray?     The  mind  is  in  no  frame  for 
this   magnification,  unless   it   loves   God  truly.     What 
moral  qualifications  in  ourselves  does  the  love  of  God 
involve  ?     It  is  easy  to  flatter  ourselves  we  have  it  from 
our  possessing  a  general  religious  sensibility,  from  an  ac- 
cessibility to  good  impressions,  and  from  a  certain  ten- 
derness of  spirit  which  we  discover  in  ourselves  when 
the  perfections  of  God,  and  specially  His  fatherly  Love, 
are  pathetically  set  forth.     But  the  love  of  God,  breth- 
ren, must  be  the  love  of  God's  will ;  for  to  love  God  is 
to  love  His  character,  and  there  is  nothing  which  ex- 
presses so  much  of  a  person's  character  as  his  will — his 
expressed  mind.     Do  we  then  love   God's  will,  or  ex- 
pressed mind,  under   all   circumstances,  and   whatever 
forms  it  may  assume  ?    Do  we  love  it,  when  it  prescribes 
what  is  difficult,  to  flesh  and  blood — forbids  what  is  nat- 
urally gratifying  to  us  in  a  high  degree  ?     Do  we  love  it, 
and  acquiesce  in  it  lovingly,  when  it  prescribes  suflTering 
for  us,  as  well  as  when  it  allows  us  an  easy  lot  and  few 
trials  ?     Do  we  at  all  events  strive  and  pray  to  love  it  ? — 
To  love  God  is  to  love  His  Name  ;  and  His  Name,  be 

thanTcsgiving  to  the  Father  of  all,  through  the  name  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  .  .  .  And  when  he  has  finished  his  prayer  and  thanlcs' 
giving  "  (Eucharist),  "  all  the  people,  with  an  acclamation,  snjAmen." 


I.]  and  the  Collect  for  Purity.  41 

it  remembered,  is  Holiness  as  well  as  Love.    Do  \Ye  love 
Holiness  ?  love  the  strictness  of  God's  law  ?  or  do  we  de- 
sire, on  the  contrary,  that  its  stringency  as  regards  our- 
selves should  be  somewhat  relaxed,  that  so  high  a  standard 
of  duty  should  not  be  insisted  upon  ? — Do  we  honestly  de- 
sire to  be  drawn  into  a  still  closer  and  closer  intercourse 
with  God  (for  that  surely  is  a  property  of  Love)  ;  or  do  we 
rather  shrink  from  that  closer  ihtercourse,  from  the  feel- 
ing that  it  might  involve  us  in  sacrifices  for  which  Ave  are 
not  prepared? — Among  men,  a  mere  groundless  fancy 
may  often  go  under  the  name  of  love  ;  but  to  all  higher 
forms  of  love  moral  congeniality  between  the  parties  is 
essential.     Is  there  then  between  us  and  God  any  moral 
congeniality  ?     Are  we  at  all  like  God  in  His  free  and 
expansive  sympathy  with  all  creatures,  irrational  as  well 
as 'rational?  in  His  absolate  detestation  of  sin?     If  not, 
what  hinders  ?    What  is  there  in  us  uncongenial  to  God  ? 
Nothing  at  all,  may  be,  in  our  lives.     Nothing   at  aU 
which  struggles  into  visible  development,  and  challenges 
notice.     We  may  hope  that  comparatively  few  commu- 
nicants live  in  the  habit  of  violating  God's  law  outwardly, 
or  retain  some  jpractice  which  they  know  to  be  wrong. 
But  are  they  therefore  "  worthy"  communicants?     Nay, 
this  depends  on  the  condition  of  the  inner  man  of  the 
heart.    Are  they  there  indulgent  towards  sin?    Will  they 
toy  with  it  in  their  imagination,  though  they  may  not  dare 
to  practise  it?    Are  they  upright  of  heart?  or  do  they  try 
to  reason  away  those  passages  of  God's  Word,  which  at 
first  sight,  and  to  a  simple  and  unsophisticated  mind, 
seem  to  prescribe  something  to  which  they  feel  an  invin- 
cible repugnance?     Do  they  manfully  act  up  to  their 
convictions  of  truth  and  right,  or  enter  into  a  course  of 
special  pleading  with   them,  by  way  of  proving  them 


42  Of  the  LorcVs  Prayer  [paet 

wrong?  Are  tliey  looking  for  an  earfhly  Paradise,  and 
seeking  to  make  their  home  here  below?  Are  they 
lusting  strongly  after  a  position  which  they  have  not, 
while  that  which  they  have  in  the  order  of  God's  Provi- 
dence affords  an  abundant  field  for  usefulness  and  honour- 
able service?  All  these  are  so  many  uncongenialities 
of  the  man's  moral  nature  to  God,  so  many  divergences 
of  the  ever-oscillating  n'eedle  of  the  heart  from  the  pole 
to  which  it  should  always  point  truly.  And  these  uncon- 
genialities must  be  abolished,  these  divergences  must  be 
corrected,  if  the  man  is  to  love  God  perfectly.  Love 
God  perfectly  he  cannot,  while  contrary  loves  engage  'his 
heart.  These  contrary  loves  therefore  must  be  expelled 
and  renounced.  And  this  can  only  be  done  by  God's 
Spirit  within  being  put  forth  to  cleanse  our  hearts,  and 
turn  them  from  a  cas-e  of  unclean  birds  into  a  Sane- 
tuary,  meet  for  the  service  of  Praise.  And  the  petition 
that  God  would  by  His  Spirit  effect  this  result  forms  the 
body  of  this  admirable  Collect :  "  Cleanse  the  thoughts 
of  our  hearts  by  the  inspiration  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit." 
We  desire  that  God  would  bring  us  into  a  right  frame  of 
mind  for  the  magnification  of  His  Holy  Name  ;  and,  as 
in  order  to  this  a  purifying  process  is  essential,  we  pray 
that  the  purifying  process  may  take  effect  upon  us. 

We  fall  back  now  upon  the  doctrine,  which  is  the 
foundation  on  which  the  petition  plants  itself.  And  most 
instructive  indeed  is  the  connexion  of  thought  between 
them,  in  virtue  of  which  one  rises  out  of  the  other.  We 
pray  God  to  cleanse  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts.  The 
prayer  (like  all  prayers)  is  an  expression  of  our  depend- 
ence upon  Him  to  do  that  for  us,  which  we  cannot  pos- 
sibly do  for  ourselves.  And  why  can  we  not  do  this 
particular  thi«g  for  ourselves  ?     Why  can  we  not  comply 


I.]  and  the  Collect  for  Purity,  43 

■with  tLat  exhortation  of  the  Apostle  James,  ''Purify 
your  hearts,  ye  double-minded?"  It  is  not  only  that, 
apart  from  Grod's  Grace,  we  have  not  the  moral  power 
requisite.  That  is  one  reason,  and  a  sufficient  one  ;  but 
there  is  another.  "We  do  not  know  the  extent  of  the  evil 
to  be  remedied.  "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all 
things," — above  the  smiling  sea  of  the  tropics,  above  the 
meteor  of  the  m.arsh,  above  the  mirage  of  the  desert ; 
and  because  it  is  thus  deceitful,  the  depths  of  its  wicked- 
ness are  unknown  to  itself.  Now  if  we  are  unacquainted 
with  our  own  depravities,  if  it  is  only  long  experience, 
under  the  discipline  of  the  Spirit,  which  gives  us  even  a 
glimpse  into  them,  how  shall  we  ever  hope  to  cleanse 
them?  The  task  is  evidently  as  much  above  our  wis- 
dom, as  it  is  above  our  strength.  In  undertaking  it  by 
ourselves  we  should  resemble  a  man,  who  should  engage 
to  purify  a  house,  which  had  been  tenanted  by  sufferers 
from  infectious  disease,  by  the  ordinary  modes  of  fumiga- 
tion and  ventilation,  being  ignorant  that  an  open  drain 
ran  underneath  it,  which  sent  up  its  noisome  exhalations 
through  the  oround-floor  into  the  chambers.  If  such  an 
one  were  aware  what  labour  and  expense  it  would  cost 
him  to  alter  the  direction  of  the  drain,  he  perhaps  might 
say,  "  It  is  beyond  my  resources  altogether  to  put  that 
house  in  a  wholesome  condition ;  I  must  leave  it  to 
others  better  furnished  for  the  enterprise."  Well,  there 
is  a  line  of  thought  very  analogous  to  this  sentiment  in 
the  prayer  before  us.  We  pray  God  to  cleanse  the  cor- 
ruptions of  our  hearts  on  the  ground  that  He,  and  He 
alone,  knows  them  thoroughly.  Unto  Him,  we  remind 
ourselves  at  the  outset,  "  all  hearts  be  open,  all  desires 
known,"  or  (as  it  is  in  the  original  Latin  of  this  Collect) 
"  unto  Him  every  movement  of  the  will  speaks  and  hath 


44  Of  the  Lord) 8  Prayer  [paut 

a  voice"  {cui  omnis  voluntas  loquitur^.  Striking  expres- 
sion !  Yes  ;  every  movement  of  the  human  will,  every 
stimulant  of  a  desire,  every  internal  uneasiness  which 
gives  rise  to  appetite,  hath  an  utterance — an  utterance 
clear  and  articulate — for  the  ear  of  GrOD.  "  He  knoweth 
our  thoughts  afar  off;" — sees  them,  while  they  are  yet 
rising,  pushing  their  way  upward,— sees  them  before  they 
have  yet  germinated  beneath  the  soil  of  the  heart.  We 
can  only  rectify,  or  strive  to  rectify  them,  as  soon  as  we 
become  conscious  of  them.  But  His  eye  can  detect  them, 
before  they  have  unfolded  themselves  in  our  conscious- 
ness ;  and  His  hand  can  reach  them  at  that  depth.  And 
therefore  under  a  sense  of  our  utter  helplessness  to 
cleanse  our  hearts  for  ourselves,  we  pray  Him  to  exert 
His  knowledge  and  His  power  on  our  behalf,  and  as  He 
searches  the  heart  and  tries  the  reins,  to  expel  the  evil 
which  only  His  eye  fully  discerns. 

Now  is  not  this  first  Porch  to  the  Office  of  the  Holy 
Communion  very  august  and  very  appropriate?  That 
we  should  be  put  into  a  right  frame  for  the  glorification 
of  God,  by  the  cleansing  of  our  hearts  from  every  sinful 
affection  contrary  to  His  Love, — a  cleansing  which  can 
only  be  effected  by  Him,  who  is  privy  to  our  most  secret 
thoughts, — what  fitter  preparative  than  this  can  be 
imagined  for  the  Church's  great  Sacrifice  of  Thanksgiv- 
ing and  Praise  ? 

We  have  spoken  of  God's  privity  to  the  worst  cor- 
ruptions of  our  hearts.  Let  us  observe,  in  conclusion, 
that  those  who  are  under  the  lead  of  grace  He  will  in- 
doctrinate more  and  more  into  a  knowledge  of  them- 
selves.    Do  not  faint,  therefore,  but  rather  thank  God 


I.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Responds.         45 

and  take  courage,  because  in  tLe  progress  of  your  Christian 
course,  more  and  more  disclosures  are  made  to  you  of 
evil  in  yourself,  which  you  suspected  not  before.  If  when 
we  are  weak  (i.  e,  in  our  own  apprehensions)  then  we 
are  strong,  the  Lord  could  not  deal  more  graciously  with 
any  man  than  by  beating  him  out  of  conceit  with  himself, 
and  teaching  him  experimentally  the  plague  of  his  own 
heart.  On  no  other  foundation  can  the  fabric  of  trust 
in  God  be  securely  reared  than  upon  that  of  absolute 
and  entire  self-distrust.  Only  pray  that  the  disclosures 
made  to  you  respecting  Christ,  and  the  sufficiency  of  His 
salvation,  and  His  strength,  may  keep  pace  with  those 
made  to  you  on  the  subject  of  your  own  evil.  For  indeed 
the  knowledge  of  ourselves  without  a  corresponding 
knowledge  of  God,  would  only  plunge  us  into  a  dark 
night  of  hideous  despair  ;  and  that  saint  prayed  well  and 
wisely,  who  prefaced  his  acts  of  Self-examination  by  these 
pregnant  words : — 

"  Show  me  myself,  0  Lord,  by  Thy  Holy  Spmt ; 
But  show  me  also  Thyself." 


LECTUEE    II. 

OF  THE  DECALOGUE  AXD  ITS  RESPONDS  ;  AND  OP  THE 
PASSAGE  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAltfENT  AND  THE  COLLECT 
APPENDED  TO  IT. 

"  33ut  let  a  man  cvaniiue  f)imsclf,  nnU  so  let  Ijmt  ent  of  t$at  fircatr, 
nnU  tivinlt  cf  tljat  cup.'*— 1  Cor.  si.  28. 

The  introduction  of  tlix;  Decalogue  into  the  Office  of 
the  Holy  Communion  was  the  work  of  our  Reformers.  It 
has  been  strongly  objected  to  by  those  who  think  it  right 


46         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Itesjponds.      [paet 

to  cavil  at  every  liturgical  arraDgement  which  was  orig- 
inated at  the  Reformation  ;  but  we  are  persuaded,  and 
we  hope  to  show,  that  the  objection  is  utterly  groundless  ; 
nay,  that  the  Decalogue  could  not  possibly  occupy  a  more 
appropriate  place  in  any  Christian  Service.  Even  if 
there  were  nothing  to  be  said  from  primitive  antiquity  in 
favour  of  its  insertion  here, — surely  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  something  so  fixed  and  ste- 
reotyped by  primitive  practice,  that  no  modifications  of  it, 
no  adaptations  of  it,  to  an  altered  state  of  society,  or  to  a 
different  phase  of  religious  sentiment,  can  ever  be  admit- 
ted. At  the  Reformation  there  was  a  great  burst  of  re- 
ligious thought,  which  had  hitherto  been  frozen  by  the 
prohibition  virtually  laid  upon  the  Scriptures,  and  dammed 
up  by  the  icy  barriers  of  tradition.  It  was  impossible, 
under  such  circumstances,  to  keep  all  things  as  they  were, 
just  as  in  a  flood  it  is  impossible  to  maintain  the  less  sta- 
ble of  the  old  landmarks.  It  was  desirable  not  only  to 
purify  the  Service  Book  from  all  superstitious  accretions 
which  had  gathered  over  it  in  the  lapse  of  time,  but  also 
here  and  there,  with  wise  and  cautious  hand,  to  introduce 
certain  new  and  original  features.  God  be  praised,  who, 
together  with  that  great  revolution  of  thought,  gave  us 
men  who  were  abundantly  qualified  by  learning  and 
ability  (as  well  as  by  piety)  to  guide  it ; — men,  on  the 
one  hand,  not  capable  of  being  run  away  with  by  the 
mere  impulse  of  novelty,  and  yet  who  knew  how  to  ad- 
mit such  alterations  as  were  manifest  improvements. 
While  we  fully  appreciate  the  venerable  prestige  attach- 
ing to  the  Communion  Ofiice,  as  having  come  down  to 
us,  in  its  main  features,  from  a  very  early  period, — in 
part  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles  themselves, — we  will 
consider  carefully  this  novel  element  of  it,  entii^ely  on 


I.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Besjponds.  47 

its  own  merits,  and  judge  for  ourselves  (according  to  the 
revealed  mind  of  God  in  Holy  Scripture),  whether  it 
has  been  unsuitably  foisted  into  a  place  where  it  has  no 
right. 

In  the  Collect  for  Purity,  appended  to  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  with,  which  the  Office  opens,  T^e  supplicate  God 
before  entering  upon  the  Service  of  Praise  and  Thanks- 
giving, wherein  especially  we  magnify  His  Holy  Name, 
to  cleanse  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts,  that  we  mag-nify  it 
luorthily.  And  we  recognize  our  dependence  upon  Him 
in  this  matter  by  reminding  ourselves  that  He  alone 
knows  the  heart ;  whereas  from  ourselves  (such  is  the 
implication)  our  corruptions  are  often  hidden.  But  as  it 
is  in  all  parts  of  our  sanctification,  so  it  is  here.  While 
God  only  can  effect  it,  we  must  lend  Him  the  hearty  co- 
operation of  our  wills.  He  alone  can  detect  our  hidden 
evil ;  but  at  the  same  time  He  requires  that  we  should 
endeavour,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  to  detect  it  for  ourselves. 
The  same  authority  which  informs  us  that  "  the  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things,"  and  that  the  Lord  alone 
searches  the  heart,  enjoins  upon  us  that  most  difficult 
and  naturally  distasteful  of  all  spirituar exercises,  "Let 
a  man^  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that  Bread, 
and  drink  of  that  Cup." 

Now  by  what  rule  shall  we  examine  ourselves,  so  as 
to  take  the  true  gauge  of  our  character  and  conduct? 
Shall  it  be  by  the  fluctuating  standard  of  public  opinion? 
Shall  it  be  by  the  average  moral  attainments  of  the  soci- 
ety in  w^hich  we  move?  Since  this  will  not  be  the  cri- 
terion applied  to  us  at  the  last  day,  it  were  worse  than 
useless,  in  a  religious  point  of  view, — it  might  make  us 
the  victims   of  a  miserable  delusion, — to  apply  it  now  : 


48  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Responds,     [paet 

"tlie  word  that  I  have  spoken,   the  same  shall  judge 
him  in  the  last  day." 

Let  it,  then,  be  God's  Law,  which,  enthroned  in  our 
own  consciences,  and  appealed  to  by  ourselves,  sits  in 
judgment  on  us  even  now. — Then  here,  for  that  pur- 
pose, is  God's  Law  confronting  us.  Here  are  the  ten 
fundamental  precepts  of  all  religion  and  morality,  which 
broke  upon  the  ears  of  the  chosen  people  "amid  thunder- 
ings,  and  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  the  noise  of  the 
trumpet." 

And  thus,  as  in  the  Collect  for  Purity  the  Church 
directs  us  to  God  as  the  purifier  of  the  heart,  and  puts  into 
our  mouth  the  prayer  that,  as  He  only  knows  our  evil 
He  would  correct  it, — so  here  -she  admonishes  us  by  in- 
troducing the  Decalogue,  to  do  our  own  part  in  this  mat- 
ter faithfully,  and  not  to  dispense  ourselves  from  exam- 
ination of  conscience,  on  the  plea  that  without  God  we 
can  do  nothing  in  this  or  any  other  part  of  our  sanctifi.- 
cation.  That  this  is  the  true  significance  of  the  position 
which  the  Decalgue  holds  in  the  Communion  Ofiice,  I 
believe  to  be  certain  from  the  following  passage  of  the 
Invitation : — 

"  The  way  and  means  thereto  "  (to  a  worthy  partici- 
pation of  that  Holy  Table)  "is,  first,  to  examine  your 
lives  and  conversations  hy  the  rule  of  God's  co7nmand- 
ments ;  and  whereinsoever  ye  shall  perceive  yourselves 
to  have  ofiended,  either  by  will,  word,  or  deed,  there  to 
bewail  your  own  sinfulness,  and  to  confess  yourselves  to 
Almighty  God,  with  full  purpose  of  amendment  of  life." 

Now  it  is  a  pregnant  suggestion  to  this  effect,  that 
"  the  rule  of  God's  commandments"  stands  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  Office. 

But  it  may  be  said,  "  Admitting  that  this  is  the  sig- 


I.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Besponds.  •       49 

nificance  of  the  Decalogue  in  its  present  position,  and 
admitting,  moreover,  what  cannot  be  denied,  that  it  is 
a  good  and  wholesome  signi^ance,  why  select  the  Dec- 
alogue in  preference  to  the  preceptive  parts  of  the  New 
Testament  ?  The  Decalogue  is  the  Law  given  by  Moses  ; 
but  we  Christians  have  a  law  given  by  Christ ;  and  it  is 
the  word  which  He  has  spoken,  not  that  which  Moses 
has  delivered,  which  will  judge  us  at  the  last  day.  Why 
not  rehearse  the  Beatitudes  ratlierthan  the  Decalogue,  as 
being  more  spiritual,  more  searching,  more  generally 
redolent  of  the  mind  of  Christ?" — There  is  certainly  an 
element  of  reason  and  truth  in  this  suggestion.  There 
can  be  no  question  that  the  Law  of  our  Lawgiver, — the 
Evangelical  Law, — reaches  far  beyond  the  outward  ac- 
tions to  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  There 
can  be  no  question  that  formal  and  outward  restraint  (and 
most  of  the  Ten  Commandments  are,  in  their  letter,  for- 
mal and  outward)  is  not  of  the  character  of  this  new  Law  ; 
— that  its  restraint  is  by  rectification  of  the  inward  prin- 
ciple, rather  than  by  placing  a  barrier  on  the  outward 
conduct.  There  can  be  no  question  that,  if  we  be  led 
by  the  Spirit,  we  are  not  under  the  Law  ; — that  if  we  be- 
under  the  lead  of  Grace,  the  Law  is  dead  to  us, — dead 
in  its  comdemning  power,  having  already  fastened  on  our 
LoED  as  its  Victim  ;  dead,  too,  in  its  literal  aspect,  as  a 
mere  husk  or  shell  of  outward  rules,  above  which  we 
have  risen  to  the  freedom  of  a  spu'itual  obedience.  I 
say  in  its  literal  aspect ;  for  the  law  may  be  regarded  in 
two  ways,  either  as  a  series  of  literal  restrictions,  or  as 
wrapping  up  implicity  the  whole  of  man's  duty  towards 
Goi>  and  his  neighbour.  It  is  in  the  latter  aspect,  let 
me  remind  you,  as  well  as  in  the  former,  that  the  In- 
.  spired  Writers  of  the  New  Testament  view  the  Law.  "I 
8  % 


60         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Resjponds.      [pakt 

know,"  says  St.  Paul  to  the  Romans,  "  that  the  Law  is 
Spiritual."  And  again,  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
Law."  "  For  this,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou 
shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not  bear 
false  witness.  Thou  shalt  not  covet ;  and  if  there  he  any 
other  commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this 
saying,  namely.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 
And  our  Lord,  being  asked  which  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment,  reduces  the  whole  moral  code  to  a  spir- 
itual summary  thus  :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind.  This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment.  And 
the  second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour 
as  thyself.  On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the 
lav/  and  the  prophets." 

Let  each  precept  be  viewed  as  a  law  for  the  heart  as 
well  as  for  the  conduct, — let  us  read  alongside  of  each 
the  spiritual  exposition  which  the  New  Testament  enables 
us  to  make  of  it, — alongside  of  the  third  and  ninth  com- 
mandment, "  But  I  say  unto  you.  Swear  not  at  all," 
"  Above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by 
heaven,  neither  by  the  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath  ; 
but  let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay,  nay  ;  lest  ye  fall 
into  condemnation."  But  I  say  unto  you,  That  every 
idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account 
thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment ;  " — alongside  of  the  sixth, 
"  Whosoever  hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer  ;  " — along- 
side of  the  tenth,  "  Set  your  affection  on  things  above,  not  on 
things  on  the  earth  ; " — alongside  of  the  fourth,  "  I  was  in  the 
Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day  ;"— and  then  the  Law,  instead  of  ap- 
pearing any  longer  to  be  a  dry  framework  or  skeleton  of  out- 
ward rules,  becomes  filled  in  with  the  warm  flesli  and  blood 
of  an  animated  and  spiritual  obedience.     And  if  the  law, 


1.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Besponds.  51 

as  we  are  solemnly  assured  by  the  Apostles  and  their 
Master,  can  only  be  fulfilled  by  Love,  can  the  rehearsal  of 
the  Law  be  out  of  place  at  this  moment,  when  we 
are  about  to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  Love, — a  feast  com- 
memorative of  the  Love  of  Christ, — syuibolical  also  of  the 
Love  which  ought  to  subsist  between  Christian  brethren  ; 
nay,  a  Feast  which,  when  duly  partaken  of,  is  the  or- 
dained instrumentality  of  cementing  our  union  both  with 
our  crucified  Head  and  all  His  members?  And  that  the 
Decalogue  in  this  place  is  to  be  regarded  in  its  Christian 
and  spiritual  aspect, — as  the  Law  of  Love,  and  which  can 
only  be  by  Love  fulfilled, — there  is  an  indication,  which 
must  by  no  means  be  overlooked,  in  the  responds  with 
which  it  is  interspersed. 

We  will  exhibit  shortly  the  rationale  of  these  responds, 
and  then  glance  at  their  meaning. 

The  responds  then  stand  in  exactly  the  same  relation 
to  the  Ten  Commandments  as  the  "  Gloria  Patri  "  does  to 
the  Psalms.  We  make  large  use  of  the  Psalms  in  Divine 
Service,  saying  or  singing  them  through,  from  beginning 
to  end,  every  month.  Now  the  Psalms  were  originally 
Jewish  Hymns,  ^'ust  as  the  Decalogue  was  originally  a 
Jewish  code  ;  and  if  interpreted  in  the  bare  letter,  with- 
out any  reference  to  Gospel  blessings,  might  seem  to  be 
quite  as  inappropriate  to 'a  Christian  Service  as  the  Dec- 
alogue. What  have  we  to  do,  it  might  be  said,  with  the 
triumphs  and  distresses  of  David,  with  the  history  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  with  the  Babylonish  captivity,  or  other 
Jewish  interests,  which  form  the  subject  of  so  many  of  the 
Psalms?  And  the  answer  is,  that  we  have  nothing  to  do 
with  these  things  in  their  local  and  circumscribed  refer- 
ence ;  but  that  since  David  and  his  fortunes  are  typical 
of  Christ  and  His  fortunes,  since  thapilgi-image  of  Israel 


52         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Resj^onds.     [paet 

is  a  foreshadowing  of  tlie  Christian's  Pilgrimage,  and  the 
Babylonish  captivity  a  figure  of  the  captiAdty  under  sin  and 
Satan,  from  which  our  Redeemer  releases  us,  the  Psalms 
which  treat  of  these  things  have  for  us  an  undercurrent  of 
spiritual  significance  ;  we,  as  Christians,  having  our  vision 
purged  by  the  holy  Spirit,  see  in  them  prophecies  of  Christ 
and  His  Redemption,  so  that  they  become  in  our  mouths 
new  songs — old,  it  may  be,  in  the  letter,  but  sung  by  us, 
not  ''  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter,  but  in  the  new- 
ness of  the  Spirit."  And  to  indicate  this, — to  show  that 
we  attach  to  them,  in  re<iiting  them,  a  Christian  signifi- 
cance, at  the  end  of  every  Psalm  throughout  the  year  is 
repeated  "  Gloria  Patri,"  being  an  ascription  of  glory  to 
the  Blessed  Trinity.  Now  the  doctrine  of  the  Blessed 
Trinity  may  appropriately  be  called  the  full  blossom  of 
Gospel  Revelation.  This  is  the  culminating  mystery  of 
our  Faith^  into  the  acknowledgment  of  which  we  are, 
by  the  Lord's  commandment,  baptized.  And,  therefore, 
by  reciting  a  canticle  involving  this  doctrine  at  the  end 
of  each  Psalm,  we  show  that  we  mentally  turn  the  Psalm 
into  a  Christian  Hymn,  and  are  singing  it  in  its  Christian 
significance.  In  the  Psalm  itself  its  literal  and  spiritual 
meanings  are  mixed  up,  and  cross  one  another,  like  the 
threads  in  a  tissue  which  is  composed  of  different  ma- 
terials ;  but  in  the  end  of  each  Psalm  the  spiritual  mean- 
ing comes  out  pure  and  unmixed,  just  as  the  ornamental 
fringe  round  a  piece  of  tissue  might  be  formed  of  threads 
of  only  one  material, — gold,  or  ruby,  or  blue,  as  the  case 
miofht  be.  Now  our  mode  of  dealino^  with  the  Decalof^ue 
in  the  Communion  Office  is  precisely  similar.  After  each 
of  its  clauses  is  said,  or  sung,  a  respond  which  Christian- 
izes the  precept,  takes  it  out  of  the  sphere  of  the  Law  and 
plants  it  in  that  of  thp  Gospel,  recognizes  it  as  part  of  the 


I.]         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Resjponds.  53 

Law  of  Love.  The  terras  of  the  Gospel  Covenant,  as  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  the  Law,  are  thus  given  by  the  Author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  quoting  from  the  Prophet 
Jeremiah  :  "  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with 
the  house  of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord ;  I 
will  put  My  laws  into  their  mind,  and  write  them  in 
their  hearts ;  and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall 
be  to  Me  a  people  :  and  they  shall  not  teach  every  man 
his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his  brother,  sajdng,  Know 
the  Lord :  for  all  shall  know  Me,  from  the  least  to  the 
greatest.  For  I  loill  he  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness 
and  their  sins  and  their  iniquities  v/iil  I  remember  no 
more."  You  see  how  evidently  the  respond  is  merely  a 
compendious  petition  that  God  would  fulfil  to  us  the 
terms  of  this  evangelical  Covenant,  being  merciful  to  our 
unrighteousness,  and  writing  His  laws  in  our  hearts : 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  incline  our  hearts  to 
keep  this  law  ;  lurite  all  these  Thy  laios  in  our  hearts,  lue 
heseech  Thee."  And  you  see,  moreover,  how  each  com- 
mandment is  Christianized  and  spiritualized  thereby ; 
Christianized, — for  in  whom,  but  in  Christ,  have  we  re- 
demption through  His  Blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  ?  Spiritualized, — for  we  pray  that  our  hearts  may  be 
inclined  to  keep  the  Law, — that  the  law  may  be  written  in 
them, — showing  that  we  understand  much  more  by  each 
precept  than  a  mere  external  restraint  upon  our  actions. 
But  lest  the  significance  of  the  responds,  in  spiritual- 
izing the  precepts  to  which  they  are  annexed,  should  fail 
to  be  discerned  and  appreciated,  it  is  in  a  manner  forced 
upon  our  notice  by  the  wise  provisions  of  the  American 
Liturgy.  For,  in  the  first  place,  after  the  last  respond, 
a  passage  of  the  New  Testament  is  suggested  for  the 
recitation  of  the  Minister,  in  which  our  Blessed  Lord  re- 


54         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Hes^ponds.      [paet 

duces  tlie  wLole  law  under  its  two  summary  heads  of 
supreme  love  to  God  and  love  to  our  neighbor  as  to  our- 
selves. This  brief  compendium  of  Divine  precept  is  an 
idea  of  great  importance  in  connection  with  the  law.  No 
less  than  four  times  is  it  brought  before  us  in  Ploly 
Scripture- — twice  by  Christ  Himself,  and  twice  by  the 
great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  echoing  the  voice  of  his 
Master.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  had  seemed  to  rec- 
ognize an  equal  love  to  our  neighbours  with  that  we  bear 
to  ourselves,  as  almost  exhausting  by  itself  "  the  Law  and 
the  Prophets  ;  " — "  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  :  for  this 
is  the  law  and  the  prophets."  But  on  a  subsequent 
occasion,  in  answer  to  the  lawyer  who  had  inquired 
which  was  the  great  commandment  of  the  law,  Christ 
draws  out  the  truth  in  fuller  detail,  assigning  to  the  first 
table  (as  he  had  already  assigned  to  the  second)  a  ful- 
filment by  means  of  love — only  love  not  by  measure  and 
degree,  but  absorbing  all  the  faculties  of  human  nature  ; 
— "  Thou  shaltlove  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind."  ^     St.  Paul 

'  St.  Mark  (xii.  30)  and  St.  Luke  (x.  27)  both  add  (though  in  dif- 
ferent places),  "  and  with  all  thy  strength."  It  is  a  curious  consid- 
eration whether  in  this  fourfold  enumeration  of  "heart,"  "soul," 
"iniiid,"  and  "strength,"  thei-e.may  not  be  some  reference  to  the 
first  four  Comn^andments,  which  (according  to  the  usual  view)  com- 
prise our  duty  towards  God.  To  give  "  the  heart "  to  God  instead  of 
giving  it  to  "  riches,"  "  pleasures,"  or  the  other  idols  of  the  world, 
is  to  fulfil  the  First  Commandment  spiritually.  To  conceive  of  God 
as  transcending  all  forms  of  the  imagination,  and  therefore  as  not  to 
be  adored  under  any  of  those  forms,  is  (possibly)  to  worship  Him 
with  "  the  mind."  To  fasten  upon  Him  the  sentiment  of  profound 
veneration,  such  as  effectually  restrains  the  tongue  from  profane 
speaking,  may  be  what  is  meant  by  worshipping  Him  with  "  the 


i.^  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Resjponds,  55 

shows  us  that  in  the  passage  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  Our  Lord  had  been  viewing  human  duty  only 
iu  its  aspect  towards  man ;  for,  though  reciting  five  com- 
mandments of  the  second  table,  he  wholly  omits  all  refer- 
ence to  the  first.  This  is  one  of  his  echoes  of  his  Master's 
voice  :  "  Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  another  : 
for  he  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled  the  law.  For 
this.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  slialt  not 
kill.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness.  Thou  shalt  not  covet ;  and  if  there  be  any  other 
commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying, 
namely,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  Love 
worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour :  therefore  love  is  the  ful- 
filling of  the  law."  And  this  another  :  ''  By  love  serve 
one  another.  For  all  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  one  word, 
even  in  this.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 
The  importance,  then,  which  the  New  Testament  attaches 
to  the  idea  of  love  being  a  summary  of  the  law,  makes  it 
very  desirable  that  the  idea  should  be  brought  before  our 
minds,  when,  in  the  highest  office  of  the  Christian  Relig- 
ion, we  make  use  of  the  law.  And  how  does  this  sum- 
mary present  the  whole  law  to  us  under  a  new  and 
Christian  aspect !  What  a  new  life  does  it  give  to  Chris- 
tian obedience,  to  be  told  that  its  essential  points  are  not 
the  observance  of  a  series  of  restrictions,  but  cordial  de- 
votion to  God,  and  the  same  regard  for  our  neighbour 
which  we  feel  for  ourselves.  Restrictions  of  course  there 
are  in  divine  precept ;  and  the  maintenance  of  them  in 
their  integrity  is  essential  to  the  health  and  solidity 
of  our  obedience.     But  there  is  also  a  qiiickening  spirit 

soul."  While  to  refi'ain  from  worldly  labor  on  the  seventh  day  (as 
the  Fourth  Commandment  prescribes)  may  be  to  yield  to  Iiim  the 
homatre  of  "our  stren";th." 


66         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Responds.      [PiUix 

in  divine  precept ;  in  the  absence  of  which,  however 
scrupalonslj  the  restrictions  may  be  maintained,  our 
obedience  is  dead.  And  this  spirit  is  love.  Bones  are 
essential  to  the  soundness  and  consistency  of  the  bodily 
frame.  But  bones,  without  a  clothing  of  warm  flesh, 
through  which  the  life  blood  circulates,  are  the  very  re- 
alization and  symbol  of  death. 

But,  secondly,  the  Collect  ^  which  in  the  American 
Liturgy  is  appended  to  tlie  recitation  of  the  law,  tends  to 
this  same  purpose  of  spiritualizing  the  precept.  For  we 
there  pray  that  God  would  "  vouchsafe  to  direct,  sanc- 
tify, and  govern,  both  our  hearts  and  bodies,  in  the  ways 
of  His  laws  and  in  the  works  of  His  commandments." 
"  Our  hearts  ;  "—here  is  the  same  reference  to  the  spirit- 
uality of  the  precept,  which  we  have  already  met  with  in 
the  responds.  Obedience  in  the  mere  letter,  obedience 
not  yielded  by  the  "  heart "  (or  spiritual  powers)  of  man, 

"  This  Collect  is  introduced  by  the  words  "  Let  us  pray."  A  su- 
perficial objection  has  been  often  so  raised  to  the  frequent  introduc- 
tion of  these  words  in  the  offices  of  the  Church,  on  the  ground  of 
their  being  superfluous.  It  might  be  asked  for  example,  "Why 
should  the  minister  say  '  Let  us  pray,'  when  the  people  have  already 
been  praying  that  God  would  have  mercy  upon  them,  and  write  Plis 
laws  in  their  hearts  ?  "  The  answer  is,  that  in  the  ancient  service 
books  there  were  two  kinds  of  prayer,  the  responsive,  in  which  the 
people  audibly  interchanged  petitions  with  the  priest,  and  the  non- 
responsive,  in  which  the  priest  offered  one  or  more  consecutivo 
prayers  of  some  length,  and  the  people  did  nothing  but  follow  with 
their  minds,  and  say  Amen  at  the  end.  The  first  were  called  in 
Latin  Preccs  ;  the  second  Oraiiones.  When  tlie  responsive  prayers 
were  to  break  off,  and  the  non-responsive  to  commence,  the  Priest 
gave  notice  of  this  change  in  the  style  of  seyvice  by  saying  "  Oremus ;  " 
— "  Let  us  pass  to  the  Oratio."  This  "  Oremus  "  has  been  rendered 
in  the  English  Prayer  Book,  "  Let  us  pray."  It  is  almost  equivalent 
to  "Follow  me  now  with  your  minds,  while  I  recite  a  prayer  for 
you." 


I.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Resjpoiids.  57 

is   no   obedience   at   all   in^  the    sight   of    Him    "  who 
searcheth   the   heart   and   trieth   the   reins,"    and   who 
seeketh  to  be  worshipped  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth."     The 
mere  obedience  of  a  letter  of  a  restraint  is  the  obedience 
of   Balaam,    who    "  could    not    go     beyond    the    com- 
mand of  the  Lord  his  God  to  do  more  or  less,"  while 
at  the  same  time  his  heart  went  after  his  covetousness. 
As,  then,  mere  literal  obedience  is  of  no  value,  we  pray 
God   that  He  would  "  direct,  sanctify,  and  govern,  our 
hearts,"  as  well  as  "  our  bodies  in  the  ways  of  His  laws." 
The  word  "  hearts"  may  here  be  taken  to  imply  the  tvro 
higher  elements  of  our  nature,  which  St.  Paul  in  1  Thess. 
5,  and   again   in   Heb.   iv.    12,  distinguishes    as  "  the 
spirit"    and    "the    soul."      The    spirit   is    that   highest 
faculty  by  which  we  hold  communion  with  God  ; — it  is, 
if  I  may  so  say,  God's  point  of  contact  with  us.     For 
this  faculty  we  pray  that  it  may  be  "  directed  ;  " — that 
God  would  make   intimations  to  it  by  His  Spirit  as  to 
what  His  will  is.     The  soul  is  the  seat  of  the  desires  and 
affections ;     and   for     this   we     pray    that    it    may  be 
'•"  sanctified  ;  " — that  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
all  unholy  desires  may  be  mortified,  and  all  pure  and 
good  affections  excited  and  fostered  in  us.     And  as  in  the 
great  work  of  gi'ace  the  spirit  has  to  be  "  directed,"  and 
tke  soul  has  to  be  "  sanctified,"  so  the  body,  being  merely 
the  servant  of  the  higher  faculties,  has  to  be  governed 
with  an  absolute  and  magisterial  control ;  according  to  that 
word  of  St.  Paul:   "As  ye  have  yielded  your  members 
servants  to  uncleanliness  and  to  iniquity  unto  iniquity  ; 
even  so  now  yield  your  members  servants  to  righteousness 
unto  hohness."     When  the  spirit  meets  wdth  direction  and 
the  soul  with  sanctification  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  when 
the  body  is  completely  under  the  governance  of  both,  then 


58  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Hesponds.     [pakt 

is  every  faculty  of  our  nature  brought  into  subjection  to 
the  obedience  of  Christ.  The  idea,  then,  of  spiritual  obe- 
dience is  fully  developed  in  this  concise  and  beautiful 
Prayer  ;  and  observe,  further,  how  the  close  of  it  intimates 
that  there  is  no  real  safety  or  preservation  for  us  except 
in  the  path  of  such  obedience.  The  devout  aspiration 
with  which  the  Collect  is  winged,  runs  as  follows : 
''  That  through  Thy  most  mighty  protection,  both  here 
and  ever,  we  may  be  preserved  in  body  and  soul."  What 
connection  of  thought  is  there  betw^een  preservation  of 
body  and  soul,  and  walking  in  the  ways  of  God's  laws 
and  in  the  works  of  His  commandments?  What  but 
this,  that  preservation  is  only  to  be  had  in  the  ways  of 
His  laws?  It  is  indeed  for  Christ's  sake  alone,  and  not  for 
our  own  works  or  deservings,  that  this  preservation  is 
vouchsafed.  It  is  of  Grace,  not  of  works,  lest  any  man 
should  boast.  But  at  the  same  time  it  is  not  to  be  had 
except  in  the  strait  path  of  obedience.  Out  of  that  path 
we  are  never  safe,  because  out  of  that  path  we  are  not 
"  in  Christ." 

If  any  thing  more  were  necessary  to  justify  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Decalogue  into  the  communion  Office,  it 
would  be  the  consideration  that  without  it  the  Service 
w^ould  lack  the  completeness  which  now  it  has.  Weip 
the  Decalogue  absent,  this  Office  would  contain  hardly 
any  portion  of  the  Old  Testament, — no  portion  of  it 
necessarily  ;  for  those  two  or  three  Old  Testament  sen- 
tences which  occur  in  the  Offertory  might  be  omitted  at 
the  discretion  of  the  Priest.  This  would  be  intrinsically 
a  defect ;  for  the  Communion  is  the  highest  of  all  offices  ; 
and  it  is  meet  that  in  it  the  Old  Testament  should  be 
formally  recognized  as  the  ground,  basis,  point  of  origin 


\ 


I.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Resj)07ids.  59 

for  the  New.  Moreover,  it  would  l3e  a  departure  from 
primitive  custom  ;  for  as  early  as  Justin  Martyr,  a  writer 
of  the  second  century,  we  find  the  practice  mentioned  of 
reading  in  the  Church  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  after 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets;  and  Tertullian,  writing  at 
the  end  of  the  same  century,  has  these  remarkable  words, 
descriptive  of  the  Christian  service  in  his  days:  "The 
Church  mixeth  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  with  the 
Evangelical  and  Apostolical  writings,  and  thence  drinketh 
in  the  faith."  Liturgically  considered,  the  Decalogue  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  lesson  from  the  Law,  just  as  the 
Epistle  and  the  Gospel  are  lessons  from  different  parts  of 
the  New  Testament. 

It  may  be  said,  doubtless,  that  though  the  Law,  by 
tlie  testimony  of  the  New  Testament  writers  themselves, 
is  spiritual  in  its  inner  significance,  still  its  tones  are 
stern  and  harsh,  repulsive  and  forbidding,  breatliing  com- 
mination  rather  than  love.  And  this  is  more  or  less 
triie.  There  is  a  stern,  solemn  tone  in  the  very  style  of 
the  Ten  Cormnandments,  which,  if  I  may  so  say,  holds 
the  profane  and  careless  at  arm's  length.  But  is  this 
any  objection  to  them  in  the  present  position  which  they 
hold?  Ls  it  not  rather  a  recommendation?  We  have 
already  instituted  a  comparison  between  the  Decalogue, 
as  an  approach  to  the  Communion  Office,  and  the  pre- 
cinct used  for  interments  which  lies  around  many  of  our 
old  Parish  Churches.  And  w^e  now  recur  for  a  moment 
to  this  image.  We  should  desire,  no  doubt,  that  our  as- 
sociations with  the  House  of  God  might  be  all  bright  and 
happy.  We  should  desire  to  connect  with  the  Sacred 
Building  thoughts  of  delightful  hours  spent  witliin  its 
walls  in  communion  with  God  through  Christ,  the  expe- 
rience of  which  misfht  make  us  re-echo  the  sentiments  of 


60         Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  JResjponds.      [part 

the  Psalmist  :  "  O  how  amiable  are  Thy  tabernacles,  O 
Lord  of  Hosts  !  My  soul  longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth, 
for  the  courts  of  the  Lord.  ,  .  .  For  a  day  in  Thy  courts 
is  better  than  a  thousand."  But  are  the  stern,  chill  as- 
sociation's of  Death  unsuitable  as  a  preparative  of  the 
mind,  before  v/e  enter  within  the  consecrated  walls? 
Rather  the  reverse.  To  be  reminded  of  mortality,  of 
the  precariousness  of  life,  of  the  penalty  of  sin,  and  of 
the  havoc  it  has  made,  is  a  fitting  and  edifying  memo- 
rial, while  our  feet  are  on  the  threshold  of  the  House  of 
Prayer.  Not  that  those  graves  can  daunt  us,  now  Christ 
has  died;  In  full  sight  of  them,  and  in  prospect  of  their 
yawning  one  day  for  himself,  the  true  believer  can  cry, 
"  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  gTave,  where  is  thy 
victory  ?" 

Well,  so  it  is  with  the  Ten  Commandments,  or  Cove- 
nant of  works,  as  an  approach  to  the  Communion  Office. 
Their  stern  legal  tone  excites  a  solemnity  of  feeling 
in  the  intelligent  hearer,  by  no  means  inappropriate  to 
the  High  Office  which  they  introduce.  We  bethink  our- 
selves that  this  is  a  broken  law, — a  law  which  in  sf)irit, 
if  not  in  letter,  we  have  violated  over  and  over  again, 
and  every  statute  of  which,  understood  in  the  length  and 
breadth  of  its  requirements,  is  voiceful  with  condemna- 
tion. But  what  then?  Does  the  Law  frighten  us,  as 
well  as  solemnize  our  thoughts?  Not  for  a  moment,  if 
we  are  among  those  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit.  In  that 
case  it  is  dead  to  us, — has  altogether  lost  its  hold, — and 
we  are  not  children  to  be  frightened  by  ghosts.  In  that 
case  (O  great  joy  and  signal  triumph  !)  our  Surety  and 
Representative  has  answered  and  satisfied  all  its  demands, 
whether  of  penalty  or  righteousness  ;  and  the  Law  is  to 
us  nothing  more  than  the  framework   of  that  spiritual 


I.]  Of  the  Decalogue  and  its  Hesjponds.         61 

obedience  which  we  owe  to  Grace.  Is  it  then  the  case, 
— this  is  the  question  with  which  we  will  take  leave 
of  our  subject, — that  we  are  at  present  led  by  the  Spirit? 
Observe,  the  Apostle's  word  is  "  led."  He  does  not  say 
"  moved ; "  for  movements  of  the  Spirit,  pricks  and 
stings  from  that  inward  monitor,  are  common  to  all  the 
baptized,  and  afford  no  ground  of  distinction  between 
man  and  man.  Nor  does  he  say  "driven"  or  "  com- 
pelled "  by  the  Spirit ;  for  to  compel  a  moral  agent  is  to 
destroy  his  moral  agency  altogether,  and  reduce  him  to  a 
machine.  But  he  says,  "  led  "  by  the  Spirit, — not  mere- 
ly moved,  but  following;  not  dragged,  but  following 
freely,  willingly,  and  with  loving  consent.  Thrice  liappy 
we,  if  it  be  so  with  us.  We  may  triumph  in  the  Law  ; 
for  it  cannot  condemn  us.  And  our  communion  Feast 
may  be  additionally  sweetened  by  the  thought  that  it 
has  been  fulfilled  for  us,  and  is  being  and  will  be,  under 
the  guidance  of  Grace,  more  entirely  fulfilled  in  us. 
Amen. 


\ 


PART      II 

THE    NAVE. 


LECTUEE    I. 


OF   THE    COLLECTS. 


"  3Se  not  raid)  tott!)  tf)i)  moutf),  anU  let  not  t^me  !)cart  ht  |)asti)  to 
utter  ani)  ttiufl  before  C^oU :  for  €Joti  is  in  !)eaben,  anti  tijou 
upon  earti) ;  therefore  let  t$»  toortis  be  feiu.** — Eccles.  v.  2. 

We  have  already  sketched  out  the  divisions  of  the 
Communion  Service,  according  to  the  order  in  which 
it  stands,  and  showa  the  relation  to  one  another  of  its 
consecutive  parts.  But  the  Collect,  Epistle,  and  Gospel, 
to  which  we  now  come,  suggest  to  us  a  division  on  an- 
other principle.  There  is,  then,  a  part  of  the  Commun- 
ion Service,  which  is  constant — used  under  all  circum- 
stances, whatever  be  the  season  of  the  year,  and  never 
subject  to  change.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a 
variable  element  in  the  Servfte, — a  part  whicli  alters 
every  week,  or  on  certain  high  and  solemn  occasions. 
This  part  is  composed  of  the  Collect,  Epistle,  and  Gos- 
pel, and  the  proper  preface. 

A  distinction  of  a  similar  kind  runs  through  the  daily 
Morning  and  Evening  Prayer.  The  Psahns  and  Lessons 
vary  every  day ;  the  Sunday  Morning  Lessons  not  only 
vary,  but  are  a  departure  from  the  orderly  course  of 
reading  the  Old  Testament  through  annually ;  the  Col- 
lect, as  in  the  Communion  Service,  varies  every  week ; 


66  Of  the  Collects.  [pakt 

but  all  these  variable  elements  are  inserted  into  a  frame- 
work Avhicli  is  constant  and  fixed. 

Before  we  go  fm-ther,  may  we  not  learn  a  lesson 
from  what  has  been  already  said?  Our  Liturgy  may  be 
regarded  as  an  extended  comment  on  the  Lord's  Prayer  ; 
it  is  the  voice  of  the  Church,  subordinately  to  Christ, 
teaching  us  to  pray.  In  the  Public  Service  of  the 
Church,  if  we  will  only  acquaint  ourselves  with  it 
thoroughly  by  study  and  thought,  we  shall  find  hints, 
many  and  edifying,  for  the  conduct  of  Private  Prayer. 
All  devout  persons  have  at  times  felt  that  the  outline  and 
general  scheme  of  our  prayers  cannot  vary  much.  It  is 
not  desirable  that  it  should.  Every  morning  we  have 
much  the  same  mercies  to  acknowledge,  and  much  the 
same  graces  to  supplicate  ;  every  night  we  have  much 
the  same  sins  to  deplore.  We  say,  much  the  same  ;  not 
entirely.  Even  in  the  most  regular  and  imeventfol  life 
one  day's  course  does  not  quite  tally  with  another's. 
The  day  is  occasionally  signalized  by  special  mercies, 
special  answers  to  prayer,  special  temptations,  special 
falls,  —  all  which  it  is  the  part  of  Self-examination 
to  bring  to  light.  When  brought  to  light,  how  shall  we 
deal  with  them?  The  answer  is,  "Weave  into  the 
framework  of  your  ordinary  prayers  some  brief  notice 
of  these  special  occasions."  The  bulk  of  your  prayer 
will  still  be — must  be — more  or  less  of  a  form,  by  which 
I  mean  that  it  will  always  run  in  the  same  or  nearly  the 
same  words,  or,  if  not  this,  will  ahvays  express  the 
same  sentiments  ;  but  under  the  different  heads  of  confes- 
sion, thanksgiving,  intercession,  and  so  forth,  you  can 
profitably  diverge  from  the  beaten  track  to  notice  any 
particular  circumstance,  whether  of  humiliation,  grati- 
tude, or  special  suit  for  others.      The  profitable  method 


II.]  Of  the  Collects.  6T 

of  prayer  must,  after  all,  be  a  matter  of  personal  experi- 
ence ;  and  we  confidently  appeal  to  those  who  cultivate 
habits  of  prayer,  to  tell  us  whether  its  spirit  is  not  best 
caught  by  iliis  method, — Aariations  upon  an  ordinary 
framework,  by  following  out  in  the  midst  of  it  any  par- 
ticular leadings  of  the  mind.  If  so,  this  is  the  very  les- 
son which  the  variable  Collects  and  Psalms  of  our 
Liturgy,  inserted  into  its  fixed  outline,  teach  us. 

But  this  is  by  no  means  the  only  (or  the  main)  lesson 
regarding  Prayer,  which  we  learn  from  our  Collects. 

The  passage,  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this  Lecture, 
warns  the  worshipper  against  two  great  faults,  which 
vitiate  the  sacrifice  of  fools,  inconsiderateness  and  dif- 
fuseness.  Both  faults  are  traced  up  by  the  inspired  writer 
to  one  root — irreverence.  A  petitioner  coming  to  sue  an 
earthly  sovereign,  draws  up  his  petition  beforehand,  and 
carefully  considers  the  terms  of  it.  And,  moreover,  in 
presenting  it,  he  does  not  allow  himself  to  be  tedious  to 
the  monarch  ;  his  interview  would  be  cut  short  if  he 
showed  a  disposition  to  protract  it  beyond  the  natural 
limits  of  the  occasion.  In  our  petitions  to  the  King  of 
kings,  as  He  sits  upon  the  Throne  of  Grace,  surrounded 
by  all  the  host  of  Heaven  on  His  right  hand  and  on  His 
left,  we  must  observe  a  reverence  similar  in  kind,  though 
proportionably  intensified  in  degree.  What  we  propose 
to  lay  before  Him  must  be  considered  and  weighed 
beforehand ;  it  must  not  be  a  hasty  wish,  or  a  foolish,  ill- 
considered  aspii'ation  ;  we  must  be  sure  so  to  guard  it,  if 
it  be  a  petition  for  earthly  blessings,  that  the  granting  it 
on  the  part  of  God  may  not  turn  out  to  us  rather  a  bane 
than  a  boon.  And,  secondly,  in  stating  our  desires,  we 
must  not  be  diffuse  or  rambling.  As  the  Supper  of  the 
Lord  must  not  be  allowed  to  degenerate  into  a  common 


68  Of  the  Collects,  [part 

meal,  so  Prayer  must  not  be  allowed  to  slip  into  a 
familiar  colloquy  with  God,  "  as  a  man  talketh  with  his 
friend."  The  mind  should  be  braced  up  to  the  great 
exercise,  and  its  tension  not  relaxed  until  the  exercise  is 
over,  and  we  have  quitted  the  Throne  of  Grace. 

Such  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  Solomon  in  this 
most  weighty  verse  ;  and  the  sentiment  is  echoed  very 
distinctly  by  a  greater  than  Solomon,  when  announcing 
His  new  Law  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  "  But 
when  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  heathen  do  ; 
for  they  think  that  they  shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speak- 
ing. Be  not  ye  therefore  like  unto  them  ;  for  your  Father 
knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  Him." 

He  who  in  the  Agony  of  the  Garden  prayed  three 
times,  saying  the  same  words,  does  not  for  a  moment 
censure  as  vain  such  repetitions  in  prayer  as  flow  from 
fervour  of  spirit.  What  He  forbids  is,  that  the  thought 
or  feeling  should  be  allowed  to  evaporate  and  run  to  waste 
(as  it  is  the  nature  of  thought  to  do)  in  the  diffuseness 
of  the  language  in  which  it  is  expressed.  He  forbids 
such  dilution  of  the  sentiment  by  multitude  of  words,  as 
would  weaken  the  sentiment.  The  value  of  the  Prayer  is 
not  to  be  measured  at  all  by  the  amount  of  language  em- 
ployed, but  by  the  fervour  of  the  desire,  the  solemnity 
and  urgency  of  the  spirit  within.  And,  in  expanding  this 
prohibition,  our  Blessed  Lord  assigns  a  reason  for  it, 
which  draws  a  distinction  between  petitions  to  an  earthly 
Sovereign  and  those  which  are  addressed  to  the  Majesty 
of  Heaven.  The  earthly  Sovereign  might  need  to  be  in- 
formed of  our  wants  ;  or  at  least  he  might  need  to  have 
them  impressed  upon  him.  But  our  (Heavenly)  Father 
"  knoweth  what  things  we  have  need  of,  before  we  ask 
Him."     He  knows  our  wants  in  such  a  manner  that  they 


n.]  Of  the  Collects.  69 

are  ©ver  present  to  Him,  full  in  the  review  and  contem- 
plation of  His  infinite  mind  ;  He  understands  at  a  glance 
their  urgency  and  their  imrainency.  Prayer  is  not  for  His 
information  at  all ;  nor  can  His  attention  (like  that  of  a 
finite  mind)  be  distracted  by  other  objects,  so  as  to  require 
to  be  drawn  by  vehement  and  repeated  cries  to  our  affairs. 
He  is  never  "  talking,"  nor  is  He  "  pursuing,"  nor  is  He 
"in  a  journey,"  nor  doth  he  ever  sleep,  and  need  to  be 
awaked.  Prolixity,  therefore,  avails  nothing  towards 
the  answer,  of  prayer.  God  is  a  Spirit.  Let  thy  spirit 
touch  His  by  faith  in  His  love,  and  wisdom  and  fatherly 
care, — ^by  the  simple  affiance  which  a  child  has  in  his 
parent,  and  thou  shalt  draw  forth  from  Him  by  a  few 
brief  words  all  that  thou  needest.  This  saying  of  Oar 
Lord  is  the  more  remarkable,  because,  as  it  stands  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  it  forms  the  point  of  transition  to 
the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  connexion  in  which  that  Prayer 
is  introduced  seems  to  point  out  that  it  is  designed  as  a 
protest  against  diifuseness  and  verbiage  in  prayer : 
"  Your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all 
things."  "  After  this  manner  therefore  pray  ye :  Our 
Father  which  art  in  heaven,"  &c.,  &c.  And  what  a  pro- 
test !  How  much  more  emphatic  and  significant,  than  if 
our  Lord  had  devoted  an  entire  discourse  to  expose  the 
futility  and  irreverence  of  vain  repetitions  in  Prayer ! 
We  defy  you  to  point  out  a  single  word  in  this  Divine 
Prayer,  even  down  to  a  particle,  a  pronoun,  or  a  conjunc- 
tion, which  could  be  struck  out  without  the  forfeiture  of 
an  idea  and  consequent  detriment  to  the  sense.  The 
petitions  of  the  latter  section  are  connected  by  the  con- 
junction a?u7,  which  is  not  the  case  with  those  in  the 
former  part.  In  this  slight  circumstance  there  is  a  great 
significance,  inasmuch  as  the  petitions  of  the  latter  sec- 


TO  Of  the  Collects.  [part 

tion  flow  out  of  one  another  with  a  marvellous  seqtience 
of  thought :  "  Give  me  bread,  Lord ;  yet  with  it  grant 
me  that  forgiveness  of  sins,  without  which  the  gift  of 
bread  would  merely  be  feeding  me  to  condemnation  ;  aye, 
Lord,  and  not  forgiveness  only  for  the  past,  but  grace  to 
be  stedfast  iu  coming  temptations,  and  to  deliver  me 
from  the  evil  in  future."  Experiment,  if  you  will,  upon 
the  first  clause  of  this  Prayer,  and  see  what  word  you  can 
afford  to  dispense  with.  Shall  it  be  "Our?"  Then 
your  Prayer  will  be  shorn  of  its  Catholicity  ;.  it  will  be- 
come selfish  ;  you  will  no  longer  recognize  men  in  it  as 
your  brethren.  Shall  it  be  "Father?"  God  forbid! 
This 4s  the  most  precious  word  of  the  whole.  Cut  it  away, 
and  you  no  more  hear  in  this  Divine  Prayer  the  utterance 
of  the  Spirit  of  Adoption.  Shall  it  be  the  designation  of 
God  as  "  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven"  that  we  may  afford 
to  part  with?  Thus  we  should  lose  the  insinuation  that 
the  Throne" of  Grace  must  be  approached  in  a  spirit  of 
profound  reverence,  and  the  allusion  to  the  words  of  the 
wise  king  in  the  text,  evidently  here  referred  to  by  the 
greater  than  Solomon :  "  God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou 
upon  earth  :  therefore  let  tliy  words  be  few." 

Now  it  is  the  great  praise  of  the  Collects  of  the 
Church  tliat  they  seem  to  have  been  framed  upon  the 
precept  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  upon  the  model  which 
lie  proposed  ;  and  most  candid  judges  will  be  of  opinion 
that  they  approximate  more  closely  to  this  model  than 
any  other  prayers  framed,  as  these  are,  by  fallible 
and  uninspired  men. 

Observe,  first,  that  the  Collects  are  systematic  compo- 
sitions. I  mean  by  systematic  that  there  is  a  unity 
of  idea  in  each  Collect,  to  which  each  clause  contributes 


n.]  Of  the  Collects.  71 

sometliing, — one  point,  and  no  more,  to  which  all  the 
lines  of  thought  in  the  short  prayer  converge.  We  have 
already,  in  a  previous  chapter,  exhibited  the  platform  on 
which  the  Collects  are  constructed, — the  invocation, — 
the  recital  of  some  doctrine  or  fact  (in  the  Sunday 
collects  usually  a  doctrine,  in  those  for  Festivals  and 
Saints'  Days,  usually  a  fact),  on  which  the  petition, 
is  built, — then  the  petition,  which  rises  upon  this  founda- 
tion,— then  the  aspiration  which  lends  wings  to  the  peti- 
tion,— and  then  the  conclusion.  It  is  immediately  seen 
how  regular  and  orderly  this  framework  is,  and  how  one 
part  of  it  dovetails  into  another.  Then,  again,  observe 
the  great  terseness  of  these  prayers,  how  no  single  word 
in  them  is  superfluous,  how  each  contributes  its  quota  of 
meaning  to  the  general  effect,  how  the  ideas  of  a  single 
Collect  might  be  expanded  into  a  prayer  of  considerable 
length.  These  prayers  are  like  those  small  fragments  of 
gold  which  lie  about  in  the  gold-beater's  laboratory.  They 
are  but  grains  in  size ;  yet  they  admit  of  being  beaten 
out  so  as  to  cover  a  large  surface  of  Religious  Thought. 

As,  however,  observations  of  this  kind  are  understood 
much  better,  when  illustrated  by  examples,  than  in  the 
abstract,  let  us  take  as  a  specimen  the  Collect  for 
tlie  Festival  of  the  Epiphany  ; 

"  O  God,  who  by  the  leading  of  a  star  didst  manifest 
Thy  only-begotten  Son  to  the  Gentiles  ;  Mercifully  grant 
that  we,  which  know  Thee  now  by  faith,  may  after  this 
life  have  the  fruition  of  Thy  glorious  Godhead ;  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amenr 

The  fact  recited  is  the  fact  commemorated  by  this 
Festival,  that  God  by  the  leading  of  a  star  did  manifest 
His  only-begotten  Son  to  the  Gentiles.  This  is  made 
the  foundation  of  a  petition  that  we,  who  know  God  now 


T2  Of  the  Collects.  [part 

hy  faith ^  may  after  this  life  have  the  fruition  of  His  glo- 
rious Godhead.  Observe  the  nice  balancing  of  the  sense 
here,  and  how  the  words  are  set  over  against  one  anoth- 
er. "  Now "  is  opposed  to  "  after  this  life,"  and 
is  exactly  equal  to  ''  in  this  life."  "  Knowing  God 
hy  faith"  is  023posed  to  "having  the  fruition  of  His 
glorious  Godhead," — which  is  equal  t.o  knowing  Him  by 
sight,  "  walking  by  sight,"  seeing  no  longer  through 
a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face.  But  it  may  not  be  im- 
mediately apparent  what  is  the  thread  of  connexion 
between  the  fact  recited  and  the  petition  based  on  it ; — 
how  the  star-guided  pilgrimage  of  the  Magi  suggests  a 
prayer  for  pur  future  full  fruition  of  the  Godhead.  Be- 
yond all  doubt  the  thread  of  connexion  is  this ;  and  who 
will  deny  that  it  is  a  most  instructive  one?  To  walk 
by  faith  (as  we  are  "  now"  [or  in  this  life]  required  to 
do)  is  to  walk  by  starlight.  To  walk  by  sight,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  "  have  the  fruition  of  the  glorious  God- 
head," will  be  to  walk  by  sunlight.  The  pilgrimage  of 
the  star-led  Magi  is  a  picture  or  emblem  of  the  walk  of 
Faith.  The  light  of  a  starlight  night  is  just  sufficient  to 
guide  our  steps  by,  and  that  is  all.  We  cannot  discrimi- 
nate colours  by  starlight,  nor  see  far  into  the  horizon,  nor 
make  out  more  than  the  obscure  outline  of  objects  in  our 
neighbourhood.  Would  that  our  Rationalists  would  bear 
in  mind  that,  in  the  walk  of  Faith,  there  is  light  enough, 
and  only  light  enough,  for  our  practical  guidance,  abun- 
dant light  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  Heaven ;  but  that 
on  most  of  the  speculative  questions  of  Religion,  the  ex- 
act nature  of  Inspiration,  the  necessity  in  reason  for  the 
Atonement,  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  of  the 
Eucharist,  a  cloud  must  rest  for  the  present,  which  no 
exercise  of  our  faculties  can  dissipate,     We  walk  now  by 


n.J  Of  tJie  Collects.  Y3 

faith,  and  not  by  sight.  And  let  the  religionist,  with 
whom  the  consolations  of  God  are  at  present  smaU, — 
much  smaller  than  he  could  wish, — remember  that  it  is 
enough  if,  in  this  dim,  dark  condition  of  existence,  we 
have  certain  foretastes  and  previous  relishes  of  glory ; 
the  broad  and  genial  sunlight,  the  cheering  warmth 
of  God*s  countenance  and  smile,  in  other  words  the  "fru- 
ition of  His  glorious  Godhead,"  is  reserved  for  "  after 
this  life."  If  God's  promises  (which  twinlde  down  upon 
us,  like  the  stars,  in  the  firmament  of  His  Word)  be  so 
cheering  now,  what  will  the  fulfilment  of  them  be  ?  If 
God's  love  and  Christ's  grace  are  so  sweet  "  nov*'," — if 
"  now  "  the  Christian  is  able  to  sing, — 

"  Jesu !  the  very  thought  is  swieet ; 
In  that  dear  Name  all  heart-joys  meet ; 
But  sweeter  than  the  honey  far 
The  glimpses  of  His  Presence  are  " — 

what  may  we  not  expect  from  the  fuller  revelation  of 
this  Love,  this  Grace,  this  Presence,  the  Power  and 
Beauty  of  this  Name?  Lead  us  on.  Lord,  to  this  fuller 
Kevelation !  Let  us  be  true  (as  the  wise  men  were) 
to  the  guidance  of  the  starlight  which  we  enjoy,  and 
so  may  we  be  brought  out  hereafter  into  the  full  sunshine 
of  Thy  countenance ! 

Now  here,  in  these  ideas  thus  suggested,  is  the  out- 
line of  a  long  and  profitable  discourse  upon  that  text, 
"  Now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly  ;  but  then,  face  to 
face  :  now  I  know  in  part ;  but  then  shall  I  know  even 
as  also  I  am  known."  But  the  outline  is  compressed  into 
the  smallest  posssible  compass, — the  compass  of  a  pray- 
er, which  may  be  written  in  three  lines,  and  recited 
in  less  than  sixty  seconds.  And  exactly  the  sarme  terse- 
4 


Y4  Of  the  Collects.  [part 

ness  and  comprehensiveness  of  meaning  is  found  in 
other  Collects.  Indeed  this  is  not  more  than  an  aver- 
age sample  of  the  significance  of  these  little  prayers. 

If  it  be  alleged  that  this  excessive  terseness  is  too 
good  for  a  coarse  and  superficial  understanding,  and 
requires  some  discipline  of  mind  to  appreciate  it  (just  as 
masterpieces  in  painting  cannot  be  appreciated  by  an  un- 
disciplined eye),  this  no  doubt  is  true.  We  entirely 
believe  that  the  majority  in  all  our  congregations  would 
sympathize  more  with  a  diffuse  enlargement  upon  the 
ideas  of  a  Collect  in  a  long  wordy  prayer,  than  with  the 
mere  concise  utterance  of  these  ideas  in  the  Collect 
itself.  But  this  is  simply  because  they  have  never  been 
taught  to  study  the  prayers  they  use,  or  to  look  for  any 
depth  of  meaning  in  them.  The  Liturgy  is  xised  in 
Church,  until  the  sound  of  it  gets  familiar  to  their  ears, 
but  the  treasures  of  it  are  never  explored  either  by  pri- 
vate study,  or  public  exposition.  And,  further,  it  is  to 
be  borne  in  mind  that  whatever  objection  may  be 
conceived  to  lie  against  the  Collects  for  their  over-great 
terseness,  lies  with  tenfold  force  against  the  Lord's  Pray- 
er itself.  The  Collects  may  well  be  contented  to  stand 
or  fall  in  such  company. 

It  is  in  going  through  the  Communion  Office  that  v»^e 
have  come  across  the  subject  of  this  chapter.  The  Col- 
lect is,  and  has  been  from  the  earliest  introduction  of  this 
kind  of  prayer,  a  part  of  the  Communion  Office.  And  it 
should  be  observed  that,  when  it  appears  in  the  Morning 
and  Evening  Prayer,  it  is  as  a  memento  of  that  highest 
office  of  the  Church,  of  which  it  is  a  fragment.  Morning 
and  Evening  Prayer  are,  by  the  theory  of  our  Church,  to 
be  said  daily  throughout  the  year.     The  Communion  is, 


ir.]  Of  tha  Collects.  Y5 

by  the  same  theory,  to  be  reserved  for  Sundays  and  Fes- 
tivals, when  an  Epistle  and  Gospel  are  appointed.  But 
in  our  daily  Service  it  is  contrived,  by  tlie  introduction 
of  the  Collect,^  that  there  shall  be  a  continual  reminder 
of  that  Festival,  which  is  the  highest  (and  which  in 
earliest  times  was  the  only)  act  of  Christian  Worship. 
To  live  in  continual  preparedness  for  this  Festival  is  to 
live  in  a  state  of  readiness  for  Death. 

To  conclude :  the  prayers  of  the  saints  are  in  the 
Book  of  the  Revelation  beautifully  called  "  golden  vials, 
full  of  odours."  Yet  in  another  passage  of  the  same 
Book  it  is  said  that,  when  these  prayers  are  offered 
*'  upon  the  golden  altar,  which  is  before  the  throne," 
•■'  much  incense  "  is  offered  with  them, — a  sign,  surely, 
that  in  themselves  they  want  fragrance,  and  cannot  be  a 
sacrifice  of  sw^eet  savour  unto  God.  We  will  lay  to 
heart  both  these  hints  as  regards  our  Collects.  "  Golden 
vials  "  they  are,  as  we  have  seen,  formed  out  of  the  pre- 
cious ore  (in  which  there  is  no  dross)  of  the  Word  of 
God,  fashioned  by  learned  and  devout  men  with  an  ex- 
quisite skill,  and  a  most  perfect  and  classical  taste. 
Yet  in  themselves  they  are  but  mere  empty .  vials  ;  we, 

^  No  part  of  the  ritual  mechanism  of  the  West  is  more  worthy  of 
admiration  than  the  means  by  which  the  ordinary  Office  is  continually 
li!iked  on  to  the  Eucharistic.  The  chief  medium  for  effecting  this, 
and  indeed  the  only  one  that  is  of  continual  application,  is  the  week- 
ly Collect It  is  to  be  observed  that  our  first  Collect  (at 

Morning  and  Evening  Prayer)  "  is  not  merely  a  bond  of  uuion  be- 
tween our  common  and  Eucharistic  Oflice,  but  such  a  one  as  to  pre- 
sent to  us  the  appointed  vaiiation  of  that  oflice  for  the  current 
week The  Collect  is  endued  with  a  wonderful  power  for  car- 
rying on  through  the  week  the  peculiar  Eucharistic  memories  and 
work  of  the  preceding  Sunday  or  of  a  Festival." — Freeman's  Prm- 
ciples  of  Divine  Service,  vol.  i.  pp.  SB*?,  368. 


T6  Of  the  Ej^istles-  mid  Gos^pels.  [pakt 

the  worsliipperg,  must  throw  into  them,  as  we  use  them, 
the  odours  of  devout  sentiment  and  pious  affection. 
They  are  at  best  only  forms  of  prayer ;  they  must 
be  filled  with  the  mind  of  prayer,  before  they  can 
be  justly  called  'prayers  of  the  Saints.  Nor,  even  when 
filled  with  this  mind,  can  these  prayers  be  of  themselves 
acceptable.  Every  thing  man  touches  with  his  will,  un- 
derstanding, affections,  he  soils,  and  renders  unworthy 
of  God's  acceptance  ;  "  all  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy 
rags."  "  Much  incense,"  therefore,  needs  to  be  offered 
with  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  at  the  golden  Altar, 
which  is  before  the  Throne. 

Offer  it  for  us,  Thou  great  High  Priest !  As  often  as 
we  are  assembled  to  commemorate  Thy  full,  perfect,  and 
sutBcient  Sacrifice,  present  it  for  us  once  again  before 
the  Throne  of  God.  Plead  for  us  its  unspeakable  merits 
and  virtues.  And  Thou  shalt  not,  for  Thou  canst  not, 
plead  in  vain.  Our  prayers,  in  union  with  Thine,  shall 
be  presented  upon  the  golden  Altar ;  and  so  united,  shall 
not  fail  to  find  acceptance,  and  to  draw  down  a  blessing ! 


LEOTUEE    II. 

OF   THE   EPISTLES   AND    GOSPELS. 

♦♦  'Kt'tstx  mzxi  static  Kite  tijis  man."— JonN  vii.  46. 

CoMMLT^iON  with  God  involves  two  leading  processes. 
The  first  is  Prayer,  in  the  broad  sense  of  that  term, — 
the  access  of  the  soul  to  its  Maker, — its  compliance  with 
that  invitation,  "  Draw  nigh  to  God."     The  second  is 


n.]  Of  the  Ejplsiles  cmd  Gospels,  7Y 

God's  address  to  the  soul ; — tlie  sounding  out  of  His 
voice  in  the  depths  of  the  human  spirit ;  in  short,  the  re- 
sponse to  Prayer.  It  follows  from  this  simple  considera- 
tion, that  in  any  Office  professing  to  be  a  Communion 
Office, — an  Office,  in  the  nse  of  which  the  soul  may 
have  the  highest  intercourse  with  God,  which  it  is  possi- 
ble to  have  upon  earth, — there  must  not  only  be  "  sup- 
plications, prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks," 
— in  a  word,  Prayer  in  its  every  form, — but  also  por- 
tions of  that  Inspired  Volume,  which  is  God's  mouth- 
piece to  His  people  and  to  the  world.  A  constant  lesson 
from  the  Old  Testament  we  have  in  the  Ten  Command- 
ments ;  nor  perhaps  could  any  single  passage  of  the  Old 
Testament  be  selected,  which  contains  a  more  complete 
summary  of  the  wdiole.  For  these  Ten  Commandments 
are  the  nucleus,  round  which  the  entire  Old  Dispensation 
forms  itself, — the  very  heart's  core  of  that  Economy. 
The  fuller  and  brighter  Revelation  of  the  New  Testament 
falls  into  two  great  divisions.  There  are  the  words  and 
acts  (equally  significant  with  words)  of  our  Lord  Him- 
self. And  there  are  also  the  writings  of  the  Apostles,  il- 
lustrating and  expounding  the  significance  of  those  words 
and  acts.  From  each  of  these  tv/o  sections  of  the  Xew 
Testament  we  read  a  passage  (varying  it  every  Sunday) 
in  the  Communion  Service.  The  passage  from  the  first 
section  is  called  the  Holy  Gospel.  That  from  the  second 
is  called  the  Epistle,  and  formerly  went  by  the  name  of 
"  the  Apostle."  It  is  almost  always  an  extract  from 
the  writings  of  some  Apostles  ;  though  there  is  occasion- 
ally substituted  for  this  an  extract  from  the  writings  of 
the  Prophets,  wlio  were  the  Apostles  of  the  Old  Dispen- 
sation. 

We  will  first  say  something  of  the  relation  to  one 


7S  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels.  [paet 

another  of  these  two  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
then  of  the  principles  on  which  the  selection  has  been 
made. 

I.  Our  Church,  while  recognizing  both  Epistle  and 
Gospel  as  equally  parts  of  God's  inspired  Word,  gives 
the  post  of  honour  to  the  Gospel.  It  is  called,  in  an- 
nouncing it,  the  Holy  Gospel ;  whereas  the  Epistle  is 
simply  called  the  Epistle.  The  people  are  seated  v/hile 
the  Epistle  is  read,  but  are  directed  to  stand  up  on  the 
announcement  of  the  Gospel.  Moreover,  between  the  an- 
nouncement and  the  passage  itself  the  people  are  directed 
to  say,  as  if  in  thanksgiving  for  some  special  benefit, 
"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  Lord  ! "  The  reading  of  the 
Gospel  has  been  attended  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the 
Church  with  these  and  other  marks  of  reverence  and 
honour  ;  and  a  little  thought  will  give  us  an  insight  into 
the  significance  of  this  arrangement. 

The  general  explanation,  no  doubt,  is  that  higher 
honour  should  be  done  to  the  words  of  the  Master,  who 
is  Christ,  than  to  those  of  His  Servants,  the  Apostles. 
This  consideration,  however,  seems  to  many  minds  to  lose 
its  force,  when  it  is  taken  into  account  that  the  Avritin2:s 
of  the  Apostles  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
were  in  fact  the  utterances  of  the  Spitit  within  them. 
The  fact  of  Inspiration  seems  to  them  to  make  any  dif- 
ference vanish,  which  might  be  conceived  to  exist  in 
favour  of  the  words  of  Christ,  or  indeed  in  favour  of  the 
New  Testament  above  the  Old.  And  thus  some  persons 
habitually  regard  the  whole  Bible, — Old  Testament  as 
well  as  New, — as  being  entirely  on  a  level  in  point  of 
interest,  importance,  and  vahie  ; — I  mean  their  theory  is 
so  to  regard  it,  although  when  the  theory  is  pushed  to  its 
legitimate  consequences, — when,  for  example,  they  are 


n.]  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels.  T9 

required  to  accept  the  proposition,  that  a  genealogy  in  the 
Book  of  Chronicles  is  of  the  same  interest  and  importaoce 
as  the  narrative  of  the  Death  of  the  Christ, — they  would 
find  it  impossible  to  maintain  their  theory.  Now  while  we 
fully  and  entirely  concede  that  "  all  Scripture  is  given  by 
Inspiration  of  God," — that  every  sentence  of  it  has  an 
object  and  a  significance  of  its  owti  (though  it  may  not 
be  always  apparent  to  us  what  that  object  and  signifi- 
cance may  be) — and  moreover  that  there  is  a  living 
unity  in  the  whole  Volume,  in  virtue  of  which  we  justly 
class  together  the  various  compositions  in  it,  and  call  the 
whole  of  them  by  one  name,  "  The  Bible  ;  "  we  cannot 
perceive  it  to  be  a  consequence  from  these  premises  that 
every  part  of  the  Bible  should  be  of  equal  vreight  and  im- 
portance. The  human  body  is  entirely  pervaded  by  the 
soul,  which  is  the  life  thereof;  the  extremities  have  life 
in  them  as  well  as  the  great  vessels  ;  and  even  those  parts 
of  the  frame  which  are  not  endowed  with  sensibility  (like 
the  hau'  and  the  nails),  even  these,  so  long  as  animal  life 
is  in  the  body,  have  the  principle  of  vegetable  life  abiding 
in  them,  and  shov/  that  they  have  it  by  their  growth. 
Moreover,  every  organ  and  member  of  the  body  has  its 
function  ;  no  part  of  it  has  Nature  made  in  vain,  though 
it  be  true  indeed  that  there  are  certain  parts,  the  func- 
tions of  which  have  not  as  yet  been  made  out  by  the 
science  of  Anatomy.  An  eyelash,  though  so  slight  a 
thing,  has  a  most  important  office  ;  and  the  great  number 
of  parts,  whose  functions  are  v/ell  ascertained,  makes  it  in 
the  highest  degree  improbable  that  there  should  be  any 
part  without  a  function.  Again  ;  the  unity  of  the  body  is 
a  well-known  and  generally  admitted  fact,  Avhich  has 
been  made  the  basis  of  many  illustrations,  both  in  Sacred 
and  Profane  Literature. 


80  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels.  [pakt 

But  while  all  this  is  admitted,  it  cannot  be  inferred 
hence  that  all  parts  of  the  body  are  of  equal  moment, — 
that  there  is  as  much  vitality  in  the  hair  as  in  the  vems, 
or  that  an  operation  upon  the  teeth  would  be  as  critical 
and  dangerous  as  the  excision  of  the  pound  of  flesh,  which 
the  Jew  proposed  to  take  from  the  region  of  the  mer- 
chant's heart.  Now  apply  this  illustration  to  the  matter 
in  hand.  The  Bible  is  pervaded  by  tli^  Spirit  of  God  in 
its  every  part.  We  dare  not  say  of  a  single  text,  "  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  absent  here."  We  dare  not  say  of  a 
single  text,  "  This  text  has  no  use."  Even  where  we 
may  be  ignorant  of  what  use  it  has,  the  text  may  serve 
the  purpose  (a  very  useful  one  surely)  of  humbling  us 
and  teaching  us  our  own  ignorance.  The  Bible,  more- 
over, is  one  living,  organized  whole  ;  considering  the  im- 
mense variety  of  compositions  in  it, — their  difference  in 
style,  in  date,  in  occasion,  in  authorship, — there  is  a  mar- 
vellous harmony  in  its  different  parts,  as  is  attested  by  the 
great  body  of  marginal  references  in  any  chapter  to  remote 
books.  We  may  admit  all  this  decidedly ;  and  yet  fall 
very  far  short  of  saying  that  one  part  of  the  Bible  is 
as  precious  to  us  as  another,  or  that  we  would  as  soon 
part  with  the  history  of  Our  Lord's  Passion  as  with  St. 
Paul's  message  to  Timothy  to  bring  his  cloak  and  his 
parchments. 

At  present,  however,  Ave  make  these  general  remarks 
with  a  particular  reference  to  the  Epistles  and  Gospels. 
The  fullest  recognition  of  the  Inspiration  of  the  holy 
Apostles,  and  of  their  inspiration  unto  infallibility,  does 
not  force  us  to  put  their  writings  on  a  level  with  their 
Master's  sayings.  The  words  of  Him,  who  is  the  Word, 
are  assuredly  the  highest  words  ever  spoken.  "  Never 
man  spake  like  this  man."     No  words  are  so  simple,  so 


n.]       •         Of  the  Epistles  and  Gosjjels.  81 

profound,  so  comprehensive,  no  words  have  such  a  ful- 
ness and  richness  of  spiritual  meaning,  as  those  of  Jesus 
Christ  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  In  what  does  the  differ- 
ence between  them  and  the  words  of  the  Apostles  princi- 
pally consist?  In  this,  I  believe  ;  that  each  Apostle  is 
appointed,  in  reference  no  doubt  to  his  own  habit  of 
mind  and  peculiar  character,  to  bring  out  one  side  of 
Truth  ;  whereas  the  words  of  Christ  touch  Truth  on  all 
sides,  present  no  side  of  it  to  the  momentary  exclusion  or 
obscuration  of  another.  St.  Paul  is  the  advocate  of  free 
Grace  ;  St  James  of  the  necessity  of  holy  living.  The 
statements  of  both  are  infallibly  true,  and  therefore  must 
be  (not  perhaps  by  our  poor,  clumsy  logic,  but)  to  the 
higliest  reason  perfectly  reconcileable.  Still  they  take 
different  sides,  as  all  mere  human  writers  (even  though 
inspired)  must  do.  St.  John's  theology  is  tinctured  with 
one  leading  sentiment,  Love,  and  with  one  leading  in- 
stinct, msight  into  profound  truth  ;  he  cannot  write  with 
the  ardour  of  St.  Paul ;  he  must  write  (in  conformity 
with  his  own  temperament)  more  calmly,  more  sooth- 
ingly, more  contemplatively. — But  now,  if  you  attempt 
to  characterize  Our  Lord's  words  by  any  one  doctrine, 
or  by  any  one  sentiment  or  habit  of  thought,  or  by  any 
one  feature  of  natural  character,  you  feel  at  once  that 
you  fail,  and  that  your  description  is  inadequate.  It  is 
simple,  pure,  crystalline  truth  that  He  speaks,  uncoloured 
by  the  medium  of  any  particular  prepossession.  He 
preaches  Faith  :  "  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the 
wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up  ; 
that  wliosoever  helieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life."  He  preaches  "Works  :  "  All  that  are 
in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth  ; 
they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life  ; 
4* 


82  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels.        '    [part 

and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation."  He  preaches  Love :  "  So  likewise  shall 
my  heavenly  Father  do  also  imto  you,  if  ye  from  your-  hearts 
forgive  not  every  one  his  brother  their  trespasses."  He 
preaches  Heaven  :  "  There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the 
Angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  "  I  say 
unto  you,  that  in  Heaven  their  Angels  do  always  behold 
the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  Heaven."  He  preach- 
es Hell :  "It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  halt  into  life, 
than  having  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  hell,  into  the  fire 
that  never  shall  be  quenched  ;  where  their  worm  dieth 
not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched."  He  is  continually 
harping  on  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  most  universal 
(if  I  may  so  say)  and  comprehensive  of  the  doctrines  of 
Grace,  in  the  light  of  which  all  differences  between  man 
and  man  vanish  ; — the  most  fundamental,  too, — that 
which  not  only  embraces,  but  accounts  for  and  ^plains, 
all  others. 

The  voices  of  His  Apostles  are  but  single  parts  ;  His 
voice  is  the  full  harmony  which  comprises  all  the  parts, 
— which  sums  up  all  truths  of  God.  Their  doctrines 
are  the  component  colours  ;  His  the  sunlight,  which  em- 
braces in  itself  all  colours.  And  therefore  it  is  well  and 
wisely  ordered  that,  in  the  most  solemn  Service  of  the 
Church,  a  higher  honour  should  be  put  upon  His  sayings 
than  upon  theirs,  and  that,  as  of  old  "  He  sent  them  two 
and  two  before  his  face  into  every  city  and  place  whither 
He  himself  would  come,"  so  now  the  reading  of  their 
writings  should  prepare  the  mind  for  the  record  of  His 
most  significant  acts,  and  for  the  reception  of  those  words 
of  His,  which,  according  to  His  own  Testimony,  "  are 
spirit,  and  are  life." 


u.]  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gosjpels,  83 

II.  We  must  now  say  a  word  upon  the  principles  on 
wliicli  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  have  been  selected. 

Must  it  not  be  admitted  on  all  hands  that  we  have  in 
them  a  collection  of  very  choice  passages  of  the  New 
Testament,  such  as  we  should  wish  most  frequently  to 
recur  to,  not  only  for  the  edification  to  be  derived  from 
them,  but  for  their  own  intrinsic  beauty  ?  Is  there  any 
New  Testament  passage  of  great  interest  and  importance 
which  is  not  included  in  these  selections,  unless  indeed, 
hke  the  11th  of  St.  John,  or  the  15th  of  1st  Corinthi- 
ans, it  is  somewhat  too  long  for  an  extract,  and  will  not 
easily  admit  of  abridgment?  So  that  we  may  fairly 
call  these  passages  the  Beauties  of  the  New  Testament, 
justifying  that  term,  if  its  application  to  Sacred  Litera- 
ture should  seem  strange  at  first,  by  the  considerations 
which  have  been  just  advanced. 

These  passages,  except  in  Passion  "Week,  where  the 
object  is  to  bring  before  our  minds  every  detail  of  Our 
Lord's  Passion,  vrithout  any  abridgment,  are  all  very 
short.  It  is  part  of  the  principle  of  the  compilation  that 
they  should  be  so.  Our  Church,  by  its  four  daily  Les- 
sons on  the  one  hand,  and  its  Epistles  and  Gospels  on 
the  other,  would  indicate  to  us  that  there  are  two  meth- 
ods of  reading  Holy  Scripture  which  should  be  combined 
in  our  practice, — ;a  cursory  reading,  which  carries  us 
with  bare  attention  through  considerable  tracts  of  it,  and 
a  slow  reading,  which  dwells  thoughtfully  upon  particu- 
lar texts.  Now  each  member  of  the  Church,  if  so  dis- 
posed, could  profitably  avail  himself  of  the  last,  as  well 
as  the  first,  of  these  intimations.  Dividing  the  ordinary 
Epistle  and  Gospel  into  six  equal  portions,  we  shall  get 
perhaps  an  average  of  three  verses  for  meditation  on  each 
day  of  the  week.     Let  these  verses  be  glanced  over  three 


8i  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels,  [past 

or  four  times  in  the  morning  until  tliej  are  fixed  in  the 
memory.  Let  us  ask  ourselves  what  lessons  can  be  ex- 
tracted from  them,  and  what  prayers  can  be  founded 
upon  them.  Let  us  revert  to  them  during  the  day,  when- 
ever our  thoughts  are  at  leisure,  and  turn  them  over  and 
over  in  our  minds,  so  as  to  examine  them  on  all  sides. 
Thus  we  shall  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  Psalmist's 
specific  against  sin, — a  specific  used,  we  are  told,  and 
used,  doubtless,  with  good  efiect,  by  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  :  "  Thy  words  have  I  hid  within  my  heart,  that  I 
should  not  sin  against  Thee;"  "Mary  kept  all  these 
things,  and  pondered  them  in  her  heart." 

Descending  rather  more  to  particulars,  vv^e  find  that 
there  are  two  great  divisions  of  the  Christian  Year,- — 
from  Advent  to  Trinity  Sunday,  and  from  Trinity  Sun- 
day to  Advent ;  and  that  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  for  the 
former  period  set  forth  chiefly  the  mysteries  of  Our  Lord's 
career.  His  Incarnation,  Nativity,  Epiphauy,  Baptism, 
Fasting,  Miracles,  Resurrection,  Ascension,  Mission  of 
the  Spirit,  Presence  in  His  Church,  aud  the  doctrines 
founded  on,  or  connected  with,  these  historical  facts ; 
whereas  those  for  the  latter  period  rather  instruct  us  how 
to  lead  our  lives  after  Christ's  Example,  and  to  build  upon 
the  foundation  of  holy  doctrine  the  superstructure  of  a 
holy  life.  Thus  the  doctriual  and  practical  parts  of  the 
New  Testament  are  brought  before  us  in  succession,  and 
a  protest  is  made  against  that  wretched  narrowness  of 
mind,  so  common  among  religionists,  v/hich  gives  an  ex- 
clusive prominence  to  one  class  of  favourite  texts,  and 
throws  into  the  shade  all  which  present  another  aspect 
of  the  Truth.  The  Epistles  and  Gospels  are  so  contrived 
as  to  teach  us  the  important  lesson  that  we  should  keep 
our  minds  in  a  just  equilibrium  between  the  various  tes- 


II.]  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gosjyels.  85 

timonies  of  God's  Holy  Word,  attaching  to  eacli  of  them 
their  due  weight,  and  looking  at  each  of  them  by  turns 
full  in  the  face. 

The  appropriateness  of  these  passages  to  the  particular 
seasons  for  Avhich  they  are  appointed,  will  be  best  seen 
by  an  example.  And  the  example  shall  be  taken  from 
the  present  season  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Year.  This 
season  takes  its  name  from  the  Festival  of  the  Epiphany, 
which  stands  at  the  head  of  it ;  and  by  the  word  Epiph- 
any is  meant  the  Manifestation  of  Christ.  Now  see 
how  this  one  thought  of  the  Manifestation  of  the  Saviour 
pervades  all  the  Gospels  for  this  season.  Christ  is  mani- 
fested in  Infancy  to  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East, — mani- 
fested by  the  guidance  of  a  star  external  to  Himself, — for 
an  infant  cannot  put  forth  any  energies,  or  exhibit  in  any 
form  the  powers  which  may  be  latent  in  it.  This  is  the 
Gospel  for  the  Festival  itself.  But  w^ien  the  infant  be- 
comes a  child,  he  then  can  manifest  the  dawning  powers 
of  intelligence  and  piety.  The  Manifestation  of  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  this  kind,  while  He  was  yet  a  boy  of 
twelve  years  old,  is  the  subject  of  the  Gospel  for  the  first 
Sunday.  The  earliest  Manifestation  of  miraculous  power, 
resident  in  the  Saviour,  when  at  the  wedding  in  Cana  He 
turned  the  water  into  wine,  is  the  subject  of  the  Gospel 
on  the  second  Sunday.  The  Manifestations  of  miraculous 
power  over  disease  by  a  touch,  and  by  a  word,  follow  in 
the  Gospel  for  the  third  Sunday.  In  that  for  the  fourth, 
we  read  of  similar  Manifestations  ;  first,  over  inanimate 
Nature  in  the  winds  and  the  waves ;  secondly,  over  evil 
spirits  in  the  two  possessed  with  devdis  ;  and  thirdly,  over 
the  brute  creation  in  the  swine.  Hitherto,  we  have  had 
the  Manifestation  of  the  Personal  Christ, — a  Manifesta- 
tion, therefore,  of  unmixed  good.     But  now  in  the  Mani- 


8(j  Of  the  epistles  and  Gospels.  [part 

festation  of  the  mysljcal  Christ, — of  Christ  in  His  Church, 
— we  come  across  a  different  scene.  The  Parable  of  the 
Tares,  sown  amongst  the  good  seed,  forms  the  Gospel  for 
the  fifth  Sunday  ;  warning  us  that  in  the  visible  Church 
we  must  be  prepared  for  much  evil  alongside  of  the  good, 
and  that  not  until  the  end  of  all  things  can  this  evil  be 
eradicated.  The  Gospel  for  the  sixth  (or  closing)  Sun- 
day introduces  us  to  the  period  of  this  final  eradication. 
The  last  Manifestation  of  Christ — the  Manifestation 
which  alone  of  all  Manifestations  will  leave  no  room  for 
doubt  or  scepticism — will  be  that  of  the  Second  Advent, 
of  which  here  we  read,  when  "  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
with  power  and  great  glory."  '  Now  when  attention  is 
called  to  the  orderly  sequence  of  these  various  passages 
of  Scripture,  it  is  at  once  seen  that  there  is  a  design  in 
compiling  them.  They  have  not  been  chosen  hastily  or 
arbitrarily ;  there  has  been  the  exercise  of  thought  in 
selecting  them,  and  great  care  taken  to  adapt  them  to  the 
occasion.  And  this  is  one  specimen,  out  of  many,  which 
leads  us  to  believe  that  the  more  we  look  into  the  liturgi- 
cal arrangements  of  our  Church,  the  more  significance  we 
shall  see  in  them,  and  the  stronger  will  be  our  conviction 
that  scarcely  any  of  them  (if  any)  were  made  at  hap- 
hazard ;  that  in  all  there  is  some  trace  of  the  thoj^ghtful 
wisdom  and  piety,  which  seeks  not  to  startle,  but  to 
edify. 

In  the  application  of  our  subject,  let  us  remark  that 
the  history  of  Christ  must  be  mystically  repeated  in  the 
heart  of  the  individual  Christian.  Is  there  in  progress 
within  us  a  manifestation  of  His  Love,  and  Power,  and 
Wisdom,  which  is  ever  dawning  more  and  more,  from  the 
fiirst  glimmer  of  conviction,  to  the  perfect  day  of  a  settled 


n.]  Of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels.  8T 

and  established  faith?  Has  our  faithfuhiess  to  relig- 
ious impressions,  like  the  faithfulness  of  the  Magi  to 
the  guidance  of  the  star,  brought  us  to  the  feet  of  the 
Redeemer,  there  to  do  our  spiritual  homage  ?  Are  we 
discovering  more  and  more  of  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ,  the  treasures  of  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and 
sanctitication,  and  redemption,  which  are  in  Him  laid 
up?  If  there  be  still  alive  within  our  corrupt  hearts 
desperate  evil,  is  the  true  light  gaining  ground  upon  the 
darkness,  and  making  it  manifest?  Is  the  good  seed  en- 
croaching upon  the  territory  of  the  tares,  although  for  the 
present  tares  there  are  and  must  be?  An  affirmative 
answer  to  these  questions  is  the  one  thing  which  can  give 
us  comfort  and  good  hope  through  grace,  in  the  prospect 
of  that  final  Manifestation  of  Our  Lord,  which  must  be 
made  to  all,  when  He  who  cometh  shall  come,  and 
"  every  eye  shall  see  Him." 


88  Of  the  Creeds  I  and pa/rUcularly        part 

LECTUEE    III. 

OF  THE  CREEDS  ;  AND  PARTICULAKLY  OF  THE  NICENB 

CREED. 

**  ^nti  b3itl)out  contvobfi'Sj?  fiveat  ts  tf)e  mwstcn)  of  soliliness : 

(HSffSa  b}as  manifest  in  tl)c  flcsi), 
SustiSco  in  t|)c  Sjpivit, 

Seen  of  anscls, 
3Prcacl)cti  unto  tl)c  CKcntUcs, 
iScltcbctf  on  in  tije  toorlD, 
a^eceibel)  up  into  jjlori).*' — 1  Tim.  iii.  16. 

The  Creeds  occupy  in  tlie  Communion  Service  a  place 
analogous  to  that  whicli  they  hold  in  the  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer.  In  both  cases  the  Creeds  are  introduced 
after  the  reading  of  Holy  Scripture  ;  in  the  Communion 
Service,  immediately  after  ;  in  the  Morning  and  Evening 
prayer,  with  the  interposition  of  a  Canticle  or  Psalm. 
This  position  of  them  is  significant.  "  Faith,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  Cometh  by  hearing  ;  and  hearing  by  the  Word 
of  God."  The  Word  of  God  we  have  just  heard  in  the 
Lessons,  or  in  the  Epistle  and  Gospel.  And  having 
heard  it,  we  profess  that  faith,  which  is  engendered  by  it, 
— the  cordial  belief  of  those  articles  which  are  contained 
in  it,  and  which  are  its  sum  and  substance.  Christ  has 
been  just  announced  to  us  in  the  Gospel ;  some  of  His 
gracious  acts  have  been  recited  in  our  hearing ;  some  of 
His  blessed  words  have  fallen  on  our  ears  ;  and  if  our  hearts 
have  been  in  a  right  state  while  listening,  the  Lord  has 
seemed  to  challenge  us  with  the  question  which  He  ad- 
dressed to  the  blind  man,  whom  He  had  restored,  "  Dost 


n.]  Of  the  Nicene  Creed.  89 

thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God?"  "Thou  hast  both 
heard  of  Him ;  and  it  is  He  that  talketh  with  thee." 
And  accordingly,  we  at  once  reply  to  the  challenge, 
"  Lord,  I  believe,"  by  repeating  one  of  those  formularies 
of  faith,  which  in  ancient  times  was  a  watchword 
whereby  the  disciples  of  Christ  recognized  one  another, 
and  were  distins-uishcd  from  the  unbelievinsj  world. 

To  this  we  may  add  that  the  Creed  has  a  pecidiar 
appropriateness  in  the  office  of  the  Communion.  At 
each  Communion  we  renew  in  our  own  persons  the 
Vow  that  was  made  for  us  at  our  Baptism.  Now  part 
of  this  vow  was  that  we  should  "  believe  all  the  Ar- 
ticles of  the  Christian  Faith."  A  profession  of  the 
Christian  Faith,  then,  is  most  suitable  and  appropriate, 
whenever  we  approach  the  Lord's  Table.  In  every  right 
approach  such  a  profession  of  Faith  must  be  imjplied ; 
aud  in  our  method  of  approach  it  is  expressed. 

But  there  is  an  antagonistic  feature  about  Creeds, — 
and  especially  about  the  Creed  in  this  position, — which 
we  must  not  omit  to  notice.  We  are  now,  it  must  be 
remembered,  approaching  the  highest  mystery  of  our  Re- 
ligion,— the  Holy  Communion  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ.  I^ow  just  as  in  the  ancient  heathen  forms  of  re- 
ligion the  Priest  fenced  the  mysteries  from  uuhallovred 
intrusion  by  exclaiming,  "  Begone,  ye  profane  ;  "  so  in 
the  celebration  of  the  spiritual  Sacrifice  of  the  Gospel 
it  is  intimated  in  a  very  significant  way  that  the  holy 
things  of  the  Church  are  not  for  dogs,  nor  her  pearls  for 
swine, — that  the  profane  must  hold  aloof.  But  who  are 
the  profane,  in  the  estimate  of  the  Lord  of  the  Church  ? 
Are  they  those  who  are  stained  with  many,  grievous, 
and  deliberate  sins  ?  Are  they  those  who  are  harassed 
by  the  charges  of  an  accusing  conscience?      Ah,  no  !  if 


90  Of  the  Creeds  y  and  particularly       [part 

sucli  have  renounced  tlieir  sins,  and  earnestly  sought  re- 
mission of  them.  Zacch^eus  is  not  profane.  Magdalen 
is  not  profane.  The  penitent  robber  is  not  profane. 
The  profaneness  ^vhich  excludes  from  pardon  is  not  the 
profaneness  of  past  sin,  but  that  of  present  unbelief. 
Where  there  is  the  faith,  founded  upon  the  Word  of 
God,  which  purifies  the  heart,  there  is  no  profaneness. 
Can  you  believe,  nothwithstanding  all  our  falls,  in 
the  Father's  boundless  Love,  in  the  Son's  atoning  Grace, 
and  in  the  freely  proffered  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost? 
Then  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of 
faith.  Nothing  but  unbelief  need  bar  thine  approach. 
Those  only  who  misbelieve,  or  who  cannot  re-echo  the 
Creed  from  the  depths  of  a  penitent  and  sincere  heart, 
are  warned  away. 

Again,  there  is  something  interesting  and  observable 
in  the  middle  position  of  the  Creed  between  the  Sermon 
which  succeeds,  and  the  Scripture  which  goes  before  it. 
The  Creeds  are  human  and  uninspired  formularies  of 
doctrine.  "  We  thoroughly  receive  and  believe  them" 
(in  the  language  of  our  eighth  Article) ,  "because  they 
may  be  proved  by  most  certain  warrants  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture." But  though  uninspired,  they  have  the  great- 
est sanction  which  uninspired  Theology  can  have.  They 
are  not  expositions  of  Christian  Doctrine  by  a  single  di- 
vine, however  learned,  able,  and  pious. — And  here,  as  it 
becomes  necessary  to  descend  to  some  detail,  we  shall 
coniine  our  remarks  to  the  jSficene  Creed,  which  gives  us 
the  Faith  in  somewhat  fuller  blossom  than  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  and  which  exhibits  some  difficulties  not  found 
in  the  briefer  formulary.  The  earlier  part  of  it  was 
drawn  up  at  the  first  General  Council  (that  of  Niea3a)  ; 
and  at  the  second,  that  of  Constantinople,  it  received  the 


n.]  Of  the  Nicene  Creed.    '  91 

addition  of  those  articles  which  succeed  the  words,  "  I 
believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost."      These  concluding  clauses 
were    already  found   in  Creeds  of  a   date  earlier  than 
the  Nicene,  and  only  omitted  by  the  Nicene  Bishops,  as 
not  involving  any  point  then  controverted.     Now  this  to 
a  thoughtful  and  reverent  mind  is  the  greatest  sanction, 
short  of  inspiration,  which  any  such  document  can  have. 
For  the  first  six  General  Councils  were  held  before  the 
unhappy    rujDture    which    divided    Eastern   and  West- 
ern Christendom,  and  thus  represented    (what   no  sub- 
sequent  Council  ever  has  represented)  the  mind  of  the 
entire  Church  of  Christ  throughout  the  world.     Three 
hundi'ed  Bishops  at  least  (the  number  usually  assigned  is 
three  hundred  and  eighteen)  came  together  to  the  first  of 
them  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire.     "  Eusebius,  himself 
an  eye-witness"  (I  quote  from  a  modern  work,  which 
delineates  with  admirable  picturesqueness),  "  as  he  enu- 
merates the  various  characters,  from  various  countries, 
of  various  age  and  position,  thus  collected,  compares  the 
scene  either  with  the  diverse  nations  assembled  at  Pente- 
cost, or  with  a  garland  of  flowers  gathered  in  season,  of 
all  manner  of  colours,  or  with  a  mystic  dance,  in  which 
every  actor  performs  a  part  of  his  own,  to  complete  a  sa- 
cred ceremony."     There  were  Bishops  from  France  and 
Spain,   and    Bishops    from    Syria    and  ^Persia ;    there 
was  Theophilus  the  Goth  from  the  far  North,  his  light 
complexion    and    fair  hair    contrasting    strangely  Avith 
the  tawny  features  of  the  Egyptian  and  Coptic  deputies. 
There  were  scholars  in  that   assembly,  and  there  were 
ascetics.     There  were  young  deacons  in  attendance  upon 
their  Bishops,  whose  faith  had  been  hitherto  unproved 
by  trial,  and  there  were  Bishops  who  had  passed  through 
the  fiery  ordeal  of  the  last  and  worst  persecution,  and  had 


92  Of  the  Creeds  /  and  jparticularly       [paet 

lost  one  eye  or  one  leg  because  they  would  not  renounce 
the  faith  of  the  Crucified. — The  occasion  must  be  by  all 
admitted  to  have  been  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant 
a  General  Council, — for  the   doctrine  controverted  was 
nothing  less  than  the   Divinity  of  Christ,  and  His  Co- 
eternity  with  the  Father,  the  necessary  condition  of  His 
Divinity,     The  Church  was  impartially  represented  ;  for 
Arius  himself,  and  the  Bishops  of  liis  School  of  Theology, 
were   present    (though    in     a   minority),    no    less    than 
the  champions  of  the  Orthodox  party. — What  the  stand- 
ard of  appeal  in  deciding  the  question  v/as,  may  be  gath- 
ered from  the  circumstance  that  in  the   middle   of  the 
Council  Chamber  was  placed  on  a  seat  or  throne  a  copy 
of  the  Holy  Gospels,  and  from  the  well-ascertained  fact 
that  every  clause  of  the  Nicene  Creed  is  to  be  found  in 
other  Creeds,   or    authentic  records,  antecedent  to  the 
Council.     Thus  the  Nicene  Fathers  did  not  presume  to 
add  to  the  Faith  derived  from  Holy  Scripture,  but  simply 
reaffirmed  it,  as  it  had  been  hitherto   received  by  the 
Church.— So  that  the  Nicene  Council,  and  indeed  the 
CEcumenical  Councils  generally,  want  nothing  in  reason 
to    make  their    sentences    worthy    of    all     veneration ; 
they  were  impartially  constituted  tribunals,  summoned 
on  adequate  occasions,  and  referring  to  a  right  standard 
of  appeal.     But  is  it  thought^  that   Scriptural  sanction 
would  make  them  more  venerable  still?    Such  Councils 
have  scriptural  sanction  to  the  utmost  extent  that  any 
reasonable  person   can  desire.      They  stand  on  the  sure 
basis  of  the  Apostolical  Council  held  at   Jerusalem,  as 
recorded  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts.     The  ques- 
tion asjitated  and  determined  in  that  Council  was  wheth- 
er  the  Gentile  converts  were  bound  to  the  observance  of 
circumcision  and  the  whole  Mosaic  ritual.     "  The  Apos- 


II.]  Of  the  NicenQ  Creed,  93 

ties    and  Elders,"  we    are    told,   "  came    together,  for 
to  consider  of  this   matter ; "    and  the  sentence  of  the 
Council  is   announced  in  this  peculiarly  solemn  formu- 
lary :  "It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us." 
It    is  observable  how  even  in    this    Council  the  only 
two   speakers  whose  speeches  were  recorded,  appeal  to 
previous  Revelation,   St.  Peter    alluding  to  the  vision 
which  had  led    to  his  connexion    with  Cornelius,  and 
St.  James  referring  to   and  quoting  the  Book  of  the 
Prophet  Amos  in  proof  of  his  position.     And  it  is  more 
than  observable, — it  is  a  point  full  of  significance  and  in- 
struction,— that  a  Council,   under    such  circumstances, 
should  have  been  thought  necessary.     The  Apostles,  the 
daily  associates  of  our  Blessed  Lord  and  Saviour,  wdio 
had  received  the  truth  from  His  own  lips,  were  yet  alive. 
They  were  men  inspired  unto  infallibility.      They  were 
men  on  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  had  descended  at  Pente- 
cost, in  the  shape  of  fiery  tongues,  endowing  them  with 
miraculous  gifts  in  attestation  of  their  mission.     Was 
not  each  of  them  by  himself  a  living   oracle,  perfectly 
qualified  to  decide   such  a  question?     Why  must  they 
come   together,    "to  consider  of  a  matter,"  which   each 
vras    competent  to   resolve?     Yet  we  cannot  for  a  m.o- 
ment  suppose  that  they  acted  without  Divine  direction  in 
taking  this  step.     The  truth  no  doubt  is  that  Our  Lord 
wished  to  give  the  greatest  possible  sanction  to  the  united 
acts  of  His  Church  as  a  Body — the  greatest  weight  to  His 
own  covenanted  Promise :    "  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  in  my  Name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 
Even  when  inspired  men  were  alive,  each  member  of  the 
Church  was   only  a  member  ;  the  Body  of  Christ  was 
not,  in  the  absence  of  the  other  members.     How  much 
more,  then,  would  this  gathering  together  of  the  repre- 


94  Of  the  Greeds  ;  and  faHiGularly        [part 

sentatives  of  the  Churcli,  tliis  discussion  and  deliberation, 
be  necessary,   when    Inspiration  unto    infallibility  was 
withdrawn,   and   the   Christian  Community  was  left  to 
the   common  aids  and  assistances  of  the   Holy  Spirit ! 
And  if  Schisms,  and  Divisions,  and  the  narrowness  of  a 
wretched    party   sjDirit,  have    now    made   it   impossible 
to  call  together  a  Council  truly  oecumenical,  and,  even 
if  it  were  possible,  the  central  autfiority,  whose  summons 
all  parts  of  the  Christian  world  would  obey,  is  wanting  ; 
and  if  thus  Divine  Providence  puts  a  bar  upon   such 
a  settlement  of  important  controversies  in  modern  times  ; 
surely  this  is  no  reason  why  we  should  undervalue  the 
sentences  of  those  six  Councils,  which  in  their  day  truly 
and  fairly  represented  the  mind  of  the  whole  Church,  and 
were  adequately  constituted.     The  Nicene  Creed  records 
the  verdict   of  the   first  two  of  those   Councils,  and  is 
therefore  to  be  regarded  with  a  veneration,  second  only 
to  that  with  which  we  regard  the  inspired  Word  of  God. 
It  is  an  exposition  of  the  most  important  points  in  that 
Word,    coming    from  the    mind  of  the    Holy    Catholic 
Church  throughout  the  world.    .  This  exposition  is  in  the 
Communion  Service  followed  by  another  of  a  more  dis- 
cursive and   diffuse   character,   and  of  much  lower  au- 
thority, called  the  Sermon.     The  Sermon  is  an  explana- 
tion and  enforcement  of  God's  Word  by  a  single  teacher, 
ordained  indeed,  and  so  deriving  his  commission  through 
a  long  succession  of  links  from  the  Apostles ;  but  still 
only  able  to  present  the  view  taken  by  his  own  individual 
mind,  and  subject  always  to   correction  not  only  from 
Holy  Scripture,  but  from  the  sentences  of  the  General 
Councils.     Thus  we  have  in  the  Epistle  and  Gospel  the 
Holy  Scripture  itself,  which  is  immediately  followed  by 


n.]  Of  the  Nicene  Creed,  95 

its  conciliary  exposition  in  the  Creed,  and  by  its  pastoral 
exposition  in  the  Sermon.  • 

It  has  been  incidentally  observed  in  the  present  Lec- 
ture that  several  formularies  of  Faith  existed  in  the 
Church  before  the  I^icene  Council.  The  language  in 
which  these  formularies  expressed  the  Truth  fluctuated ; 
some  are  more  expanded,  some  concise  ;  but  in  substance 
all  of  them  are  much  the  same.  And  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  this  substance,  as  distinct  from  the  particular 
expressions,  came  down  from  the  Apostles  themselves. 
We  find  distinct  traces  of  a  Creed  in  their  writings.  St. 
Paul  exhorts  Timothy  to  "  hold  fast  the  form  of  sound 
words,  which  he  had  heard  of  him,  in  faith  and  love," 
"  and  to  keep  that  which  was  committed  to  his  trust ;  "  in 
both  which  passages  it  is  highly  probable  that  some  formu- 
lary of  Faith  of  the  nature  of  a  Creed  is  referred  to.  Un- 
der the  then  circumstances  of  the  Church,  when  parts  of 
the  Nev/  Testament  did  not  exist,  and  the  copies  of  those 
which  did  exist  were  very  rare,  and  multiplied  with  dif- 
ficulty, some  summary  of  the  teaching  of  Inspired  men, 
brief,  comprehensive,  and  portable  to  the  memory,  must 
have  been  urgently  in  request.  And  it  is  probable  that 
St.  Paul  quotes  a  fragment  of  such  a  summary,  when  in 
terms  which  have  an  almost  rhythmical  cadence  in  the 
original,  and  run  in  parallel  clauses,  he  thus  enunciates 
the  mystery  of  Godliness, — the  truth,  of  which  the 
Church  is  the  pillar  and  ground :  "  God  was  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached 
unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up 
into  glory." 

So  that  not  only  the  synods  which  framed  for  us  our 
Creeds,  but  the  Creeds  themselves  so  framed,  may  appeal 
to  Holy  Scripture  for  their  earliest  warrants. 


96  Of  the  Greeds  ',  and  particularly        [part 

Three  points  in  the  English  Version  of  the  ISTicene 
Creed,  which  are  very  generally  misunderstood,  demand 
a  brief  notice  here.  The  first  is,  that  the  word  "  of"  in 
the  expression,  "  G-od  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  Very  God 
of  Very  God,"  is  not  expressive  of  the  superlative  degree 
(as  we  might  call  the  Bible  "  the  Book  of  Books,"  or 
God  "  the  King  of  Kings,"  meaning  the  best  book,  the 
highest  of  Kings),  but  is  exactly  equal  to  "  from  ;  "  and 
conveys  the  doctrine  that  the  Second  Person  of  the  God- 
head (to  use  the  Apostle's  language)  is  the  brightness 
of  the  Father's  Glory,  standing  in  the  same  relation  to 
Him  as  the  light  does  to  the  Sun.  This  sense  is  conveyed 
in  reading  by  slightly  emphasizing  the  "  of;" — "  God  of 
God,"  "  Light  of  Light." 

The  second  is,  that  the  words  "  By  whom  aU  things 
were  made"  have  reference  not  to  the  immediately  forego- 
ing antecedent,  "the  Father,"  but  to  the  Son,  and  are 
merely  an  echo  of  St.  John's  inspired  statement :  "  All 
things  were  made  by  Him  "  (the  Word)  ;  "  and  without 
Him  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made." 

The  third  is,  that  v*^here  the  Holy  Ghost  is  called 
"  the  Lord,  and  Giver  of  life,''  the  word  '•  life  "  is  not  to 
be  understood  as  dependent  upon  "  Lord,"  but  merely 
upon  the  preceding  word  "  Giver."  In  the  original  the 
words  run  thus,  without  any  conjunction :  "  I  believe  in 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Lord,  the  life-giving  Spirit."  These 
words  (with  all  that  succeed  them)  were  added  to  the 
Creed  at  the  first  Council  of  Constantinople,  and  their 
design  was  to  condemn  in  the  most  emphatic  way  the 
heresy  of  Macedonius,  who  taught  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  a  creature,  and  denied  His  separate  personality.  In 
opposition  to  these  heretics,  and  in  exact  conformity  with 
the  language  of  St.  Paul,  "  Now  the  Lord  is  that  Spirit," 


n]  Of  the  Nicene  Greed.  97 

the  Council  protested  that  the  Holy  Ghost  "  is  the  Lord, 
the  Life-giver."  But  the  force  of  their  protest  is  lost,  or 
at  least  much  weakened,  if  ia  the  usual  thoughtless  and 
slovenly  mode  of  recitation  the  two  terms  are  fused  to- 
gether and  read  without  any  pause, — '•  The  Lord  and 
Giver  of  life."  The  insertion  of  a  comma  in  the  Prayer 
Book  after  the  word  "  Lord,"  would  vindicate  the  original 
sense,  and  point  out  the  true  method  of  conveying  it, — 
"  the  Lord,  and  Giver  of  life." 

Passing  from  these  (not  unimportant)  critical  remarks 
to  matters  of  a  more  practical  bearing,  we  observe  that 
the  Apostles'  and  Nicene  Creeds,  unlike  other  parts  of 
Public  Service,  are  couched  in  the  first  person  singular, 
— "  I  believe."  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  it  is  a 
variation  from  the  original,  which,  being  the  decision  of 
a  Council,  ran  thus  :  "  We  believe."  The  "  I  "  teaches 
u«  a  val'uable  lesson.  Prayer  is  a  matter  in  which  we 
may  materially  help  one  another  ;  in  which  v/e  are  always, 
even  in  the  privacy  of  our  closets,  to  bear  on  our  hearts  the 
wants  and  wishes  of  our  brethren,  no  less  than  our  own. 
Therefore  when  we  pray  in  the  form,  which  the  Lord  Him- 
self has  given  us,  we  say  not  "  M\j  Father,"  but  "  Our 
Father  ;  "  not  "  Give  me  "  and  "  forgive  me  ;  "  but  "  Give 
us  "  and  "  forgive  us."  Bat  belief  is  a  matter  purely 
personal.  "We  must  believe  each  man  for  himself  in  the 
depths  of  his  own  spirit.  The  faith  of  the  Church  to 
which  we  belong  will  not  save  us,  nor  even  comfort  us  in 
our  spiritual  distresses  ; — only  a  laying  hold  of  Christ  in 
the  inner  man  of  the  heart  can  do  that ;  and  therefore  we 
say,  "  J  believe  in  One  God."  What  an  intimation  have 
we  here  (though  conveyed  in  an  indirect  way)  that  the 
Church  intends  us  to  profess,  and  inculcates  upon  us,  not 
a  mere  speculative  and  historical  belief, — not  the  bare 
5 


98  Of  the  Creeds  ;  and  ^artieutarly        [pakt 

conviction  that  these  things  happened ;  but  a  lively  faith, 
influential  upon  the  character  and  conduct.  You  are  to 
recite  the  Creed,  not  as  one  of  a  multitude  of  professing 
believers,  but  as  one  vdiose  heart  has  been  reached,  and 
the  springs  of  v/hose  character  have  been  touched,  by  the 
glorious  truths,  to  which  you  give  utterance.  You  are  to 
recite  it  not  as  a  nominal,  but  a  real  Christian.  You 
come  out  of  the  crowd,  when  you  repeat  it,  and  profess 
that  you  personally,  you  individually,  you  by  the  working 
of  your  own  mind,  have  found  comfort,  peace,  satisfac- 
tion for  every  felt  need  and  instinct  of  the  soul,  in  this 
glorious  old  watchword,  which  has  come  down  to  us  hal- 
lowed by  so  many  associations,  and  for  their  faithful 
adherence  to  which  martyrs  have  not  hesitated  to  shed 
their  blood. 

But  the  highest  aspect  of  the  Christian  Creeds  has 
yet  to  be  noticed.  They  are,  then,  and  have  always  bo^n 
accounted,  not  merely  a  bulwark  against  the  inroads  of 
heresy,  not  merely  a  confession  of  faith,  not  merely  a 
watchv/ord  for  believers,  but  also  a  Hymn  of  Praise. 
In  the  ancient  OiRces,  even  the  Athanasian  Creed  (a 
sternly  dogmatic  formulary,  which  still  finds  a  place  in 
the  English  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  though  not  admit- 
ted in  our  ov/n)  is  called,  from  what  was  considered  to  be 
its  prevailing  character,  "  The  Psalm  Quicunque  vult ;" 
and  being  reckoned  as  a  Psalm,  it  was  sung  antiphonally, 
as  the  Psalms  are.  And  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  the 
English  Liturgy  (though  it  is  not  so  in  our  own)  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed  in  the  Morning  Prayer,  and  the  Nicene  Creed 
in  the  Communion  Office,  are  directed  to  be  "  sung  or 
said "  (not,  as  the  phrase  there  commonly  is,  "  said  or 
sung"),  as  if  the  preference  v/ere  given  to  singing.  This 
mav  be  an  accident ;  but  whether  it  be  so  or  not,  we  shall 


n.]  Of  the  Nicene  Creed.  99 

not  err  in  regarding  the  Creeds  as  a  burst  of  praise,  and 
the  Nicene  Creed  as  a  very  grand  burst  of  praise — most 
appropriate  in  that  Service,  which  is  tliroughout  a  Sacri- 
fice of  Praise  and  Thanksgiving.  Divided  as  it  is  into 
three  Paragraphs,  corresponding  to  the  Three  Persons  of 
the  Blessed  Trinity,  it  is  only  the  Doxology  expanded. 
And  it  should  be  said  therefore  in  a  spirit  attuned  to 
praise,  in  a  jubilant  spirit,  quickened  by  the  triumphs  of 
Redeeming  Love  to  speak  aloud  the  Redeemer's  Glory. 
Those  who  love  to  exalt  the  Name  of  Christ, — those  who 
feel  (as  what  true  Christian  does  not  feel?)  that  it  is  His 
Divinity  which  gives  efBcacy  to  His  Atonement,  and  lends 
such  peculiar  lustre  to  the  whole  scheme  of  Redemp- 
tion, will  not  elsewhere  find  terms  better  suited  to  ex- 
press their  sentiments  than  those  on  which  we  have  com- 
mented, "  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  Yery  God  of 
Very  God,  Begotten,  not  made.  Being  of  one  substance 
with  the  Father  ;  By  whom  all  things  were  made."  And 
there  is  a  grandeur,  too,  in  that  confession  of  the  Divinity, 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  will  approve  itself  specially  to 
those,  who  being  deeply  conscious  of  the  weakness  and 
sinfulness  of  their  own  nature,  know  that  no  strength 
short  of  God's  will  suffice  to  give  them  the  victory  :  "  I 
believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Lord,  and  Giver  of 
Life,  Who  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  Who 
w^ith  the  Father  and  the  Son  together  is  worshipped 
and  glorified.  Who  spake  by  the  Prophets." 

Let  it  be  our  aim,  then,  to  join  in  this  part  of  the 
Divine  Office  in  a  spirit  of  Holy  exultation.  Such  a 
spirit  will  be  found  to  have  a  reflex  action  upon  our  own 
minds  of  the  most  beneficial  character.  It  will  strengthen 
our  Christian  principle,  fortify  us  against  temptation, 
enable  us  to  cope  more   successfully  with  besetting  sins. 


100  Note  on  the  Eternal  Generation        [paet 

For  it  is  not  with  the  palsied  hands  of  despondency  we 
can  hope  to  achieve  any  spiritnal  enterprise,  nor  with  the 
tottering  feet  of  a  timid,  doubting,  hesitating  faith  we  can 
hope  to  walk  bravely  and  firmly  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 
"  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  alway,  and  again  I  say,  Rejoice." 
"  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 


NOTE  ON  THE  ETERNAL  GENERATION  OF  THE  SON  OF 

GOD. 

It  was  thought  by  some  who  heard  this  Lecture  delivered  that  the 
Article,  "  Begotten  of  the  Father  before  all  worlds,''''  should  receive 
some  explanation,  as  being  a  stumbling-block  to  many.  It  can  be  no 
stumbling-block  to  any,  who  have  read  Bishop  Pearson's  elaborate 
and  masterly  disquisition  on  the  Eternal  Generation  of  the  Son,  in 
which  he  shows  that  Our  Lord  is  the  Son  of  God  not  only  in  respect 
of  His  Birth  of  the  Virgin,  not  only  in  respect  of  His  Birth  from  the 
Grave  (or  Resurrection),  not  only  in  respect  of  His  Inheritance  of  all 
things,  but  also  in  respect  of  the  communication  (from  all  eternity)  of 
the  Divine  Essence  from  the  Father,  which  is  far  more  truly  and 
properly  a  generation  than  any  natural  generation  of  the  creature. 
The  Scriptural  texts  which  show  this  are  : — 
"  God  sent  His  Only-Begotten  Son  into  the  world." — John  iv.  9. 

(He  was  the  Son,  before  He  was  sent.) 
"  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  made  of  a  woman." — Gal.  iv.  4. 

(He  was-  the  Son,  before  He  was  born  of  a  woman.) 
"  The  Firstborn  of  every  creature  "  (or,  as  it  might  be  rendered, 

"Begotten  prior  to  every  creature"). — Col  i.  17. 

"  The  Only-Begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  Bosom  of  the  Father," 

(evidently  referring  to  Our  Lord's  position  in  the  Godhead,  not 

to  His  Birth  in  Time). — John  i.  18. 

Bishop   Pearson's   argument   is   thus  admirably  summed  up  by 

Professor  Harold  Brown  in  his  Exposition  of  the  Second  Article  : — 

"  Now  the  communication  of  the  Nature  of  God,  thus  made  by 

the  Father  to  the  Son,  maybe  called  a  proper  generation.     Nay,  it  is 


n.]  of  the  Son  of  God,  101 

more  proper  than  any  earthly  generation.  For,  in  human  generation, 
the  son  indeed  derives  his  nature  from  his  father,  but  it  is  in  a  man- 
ner according  with  the  imperfection  of  humanity.  Man's  generation 
is  in  time,  and,  as  connected  with  that  which  is  material,  results,  in 
part  at  least,  from  that  property  of  matter  called  divisibility.  The 
son,  too,  in  human  beings,  when  derived  from  the  father,  becomes 
separate  from  him'. 

"But  this  is  not  so  with  God.  God's  eternal  perfections  He, 
from  all ' eternity,  communicated  to  his  Son.  'So  also  the  Divine 
Essence,  being  by  reason  of  its  simplicity  not  subject  to  division,  and 
in  respect  of  its  infinity  incapable  of  multiplication,  is  so  communi- 
cated as  not  to  be  multiplied,  insomuch  that  He,  which  proceedeth  by 
that  commimi cation,  hath  not  only  the  same  nature,  but  is  also  the  same 
God.  The  Father  God,  and  the  Word  God ;  Abraham  man,  and  Isaac 
man ;  but  Abraham  one  man,  Isaac  another  man :  not  so  the  Father 
one  God,  and  the  AVord  another,  but  the  Father  and  the  "Word  both 
the  same  God.  Since  then  the  propriety,  of  generation  is  founded  in 
the  essential  similitude  of  the  son  unto  the  father,  by  reason  of  the 
same  which  he  receiveth  from  him ;  since  the  full  perfect  nature  of 
God,  is  communicated  unto  the  Word,  and  that  more  intimately,  and 
with  a  greater  unity  or  identity  than  can  be  found  in  human  genera- 
tion ;  it  followeth,  that  this  communication  of  the  Divine  nature  is  the 
proper  generation,  by  which  Christ  is,  and  is  called  the  true  and 
proper  Son  of  God.'  "—Pp.  66,  67  of  the  Fifth  Edition. 

The  point  proved  by  the  above  texts,  and  learnedly  expounded  in 
the  above  extract,  may  seem  at  first  of  a  subtle  and  abstract  naturC) 
such  as  has  a  tendency  to  perplex  rather  than  edify.  But  see  how 
important  a  bearing  Dogma  has  upon  practice !  We  should  be 
robbed  of  a  full  half  of  our  consolation,  if  we  were  not  persuaded  that 
Om'  Lord  from  all  eternity  stood  towards  God  in  the  relation  of  the 
Only  Begotten.  What  a  pang  does  it  cost  a  parent  to  part  with  an 
only  son, — to  part  with  him  to  danger,  suffering,  and  death !  Yet 
parents  are  found,  who  in  a  noble  cause  will  make  even  this  sacrifice, 
though  it  rends  their  hearts  asunder.  God  made  this  sacrifice  for  the 
salvation  of  souls.  How  intensely  must  lie  have  loved  us,  even  while 
we  were  yet  sinners,  to  tear  Ilis  Only  Son  from  His  Bosom,  and  send 
Him  down  into  the  pit  of  our  ruin,  to  agonize  and  bleed  for  every 
man! 


102  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.         [paet 


LECTUEE    lY. 

OF    THE    SERMON    OK   INSTRUCTION. 

e:i)iist ^vead;  tl)e  m*ovtt.»'— 2  Tm.  iv.  1,  2. 

The  position  wliicli  the  Sermon  lias  always  held  in 
Communion  Office  sufficiently  declares  its  nature.  It 
follows  after  the  Word  of  God,  and  after  the  authoritative 
conciliary  exposition  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  plainly 
meant,  then,  to  be  a  commentary  upon,  or  exposition  of, 
that  Word, — wanting  of  course  now-a-days  the  sanction 
of  Inspiration,  wanting  even  the  sanction  of  the  authority 
of  the  Universal  Church ;  but  still  delivered  under  the 
express  commission  of  Christ,  when  He  gave  this  parting 
charge  to  His  disciples  :  "  Go  ye,  and  make  disciples  of 
all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 
The  sermon  is  (or  ought  to  be)  an  instruction  of  baptized 
persons  in  all  things  which  Christ  commanded,  none  of 
those  things  being  omitted,  all  of  them  finding  a  place 
there  in  turn.  As  such,  it  has  the  Lord's  own  warrant, 
and  to  tliat  warrant,  not  to  the  eloquence  or  ingenuity  of 
its  composition,  all  its  spiritual  efficacy  is  due. 

Now  here  is  opened  up,  at  the  outset,  a  line  of  thought 
on  the  subject  before  us,  which  may  profitably  guard  us 
against  contrary  errors.  The  sermon  is  an  exposition  of 
Holy  Scripture.  On  the  one  hand,  it  has  no  independent 
ground  of  its  own  to  stand  upon.     On  the  other,  it  is  not, 


II.]  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  103 

and  is  not  designed  to  be,  Scripture  itself.  An  oration 
not  suggested  by,  or  turning  upon,  the  Word  of  God, — 
not  professing  to  illustrate  its  doctrines  or  enforce  its 
precepts,  however  able  it  might  be,  and  however  pious 
and  well-intentioned,  would  not  be  a  sermon.  Just  in 
proportion  as  an  address  from  the  pulpit  takes  up  an  in-: 
dependent  line  of  thought,  not  holding  of  Scripture,  in 
that  proportion  it  is  not  a  sermon.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  a  sermon  is  not  (as  some  seem  to  think  it,  who 
cherish  a  very  just  horror  of  the  opposite  extreme)  a 
cento  of  texts  of  Scripture,  tacked  together  with  no  other 
connexion  than  such  as  a  Concordance  or  a  Bible  with 
marginal  references  might  furnish.  There  must  be  a 
play  of  the  preacher*s  mind  upon  Scripture  to  constitute 
a  Sermon.  It  is  to  be  Scripture,  not  in  its  letter  and  ab- 
stract form,  but  as  it  presents  itself  to  an  ordinary  human 
mind,  projected  upon  it  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  out 
its  lessons.  The  preacher  stands  in  much  the  same  rela- 
tion to  Scripture  as  a  musician  does  to  the  instrunient  on 
which  he  plays.  Every  conceivable  melody  is  wrapped 
up  in  those  notes  which  lie  under  the  musician's  hand 
Apart  from  the  notes,  there  can  be  no  melody.  Yet  the 
musician  has  an  important  part  to  play  ia  combining  the 
notes.  If  he  were  merely  to  strike  a  number  of  them  at 
random,  there  would  be  no  melody.  In  like  manner  the 
preacher  must  be  a  composer  from  materials  supplied  to 
liim.  All  his  materials  are  found  in  Scripture  ;  there 
are  none  beside.  But  the  arrangement  of  these,  the  illus- 
tration of  one  by  another,  the  form  in.  which  they  shall  be 
presented,  must  be  the  work  of  the  preacher's  mind. 

This  is  a  point  of  great  importance  ;  and  v/e  must 
dwell  upon  it  a  little  more,  and  trace  out  some  of  its 
bearinirs.     What  then  is  the  real  substance  of  the  Ordi- 


104  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.         [paet 

nance  (for  sncli  it  is)  of  Preacliing,  as  distinct  from  its 
form,  wliicli  is  variable,  and  wbicli  circumstances  may 
modify?  The  substance  is  this,  that  God  uses  fallible 
and  sinful  man  to  teach  man.  It  was  of  course  open  to 
Him  to  adopt  other  methods  of  proceedino; ;  but  this  is 
the  method  which,  no  doubt  on  the  wisest  and  best 
grounds.  He  preferred.  He  might  send  periodically  angels 
from  Heaven  to  instruct  us  in  the  way  of  life.  Such  an 
arranfrement  mioht  not  seem  to  be  v*'ithout  its  advanta":es. 
The  great  message  would  always  be  truly,  and  purely, 
and  fully  delivered  ;  it  would  never  be  liable  to  misrepre- 
sentation or  perversion.  Yet  as  it  was  not  God's  purpose 
to  redeem,  so  neither  is  it  His  purpose  to  instruct  us,  by 
the  ministry  of  angels.  And  thus  much,  at  all  events, 
we  may  see  of  the  wisdom  of  this  purpose,  that  angels 
having  made  no  experiment  of  our  temptations,  and  our 
whole  mode  of  life  and  thought  being  of  necessity  entirely 
foreign  to  those  among  Vvdiom  sin  and  sorrow  are  unknown, 
they  could  in  no  way  do  aught  but  deliver  their  bare  mes- 
sage,— they  would  not  possess  that  key  to  the  heart, 
which  nothing  short  of  a  common  experience  can  give. 
"Why  is  it  that  European  missionaries  to  the  distant 
heathen  see  very  little  fruit  of  their  labours,  ia  compari- 
son of  converts  from  among  the  natives  themselves,  who 
have  been  instructed  and  ordained  ?  The  reason  is  obvious. 
A  European  has  not  the  key  to  a  Brahman's  habits  of 
thought,  to  a  Brahman's  associations  and  sentiments, 
which  a  Brahman  himself  has.  Yet  the  European  and 
tlie  Brahman  have  a  common  nature  ;  and  if  you  dug 
deep  beneatli  the  incrustations  of  outward  circumstance 
and  mere  intellectual  conformation,  you  Avould  find  the 
same  precious  ore  of  human  affections  in  the  heart  of 
both.     But  suppose  for  a  moment  the  nature  of  the  two 


n.]  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  105 

not  to  be  fundamentally  the  same  ;  how,  in  that  case, 
would  the  incapacity  of  the  one  to  be  the  teacher  and 
guide  of  the  other  be  enhanced  !  The  European  and  the 
Braliman,  if  they  do  not  reason  in  the  same  method,  can 
at  least  understand  one  another's  fears,  and  hopes,  and 
desires  ;  but  supposing  the  difference  of  their  nature  pre- 
vented their  doing  this,  how  little  in  that  case  is  one  of 
them  suited  to  be  the  guide  of  the  other  in  those  matters 
of  religion,  which  touch  very  closely  the  conduct  and  the 
trials  of  every-day  life  !  You  might  give  a  man  a  perfect 
theoretical  knowledge  of  navigation  ;  but  if  he  had  never 
been  on  board  a  vessel  himself,  he  would  hardly  make  a 
very  safe  pilot.  And  the  Holy  Angels ,  though  they  may 
stand  on  the  shore  of  human  life,  and  watch  us  with  a 
divine  commiseration  as  we  toil  in  rowing,  have  never 
embarked  themselves  on  the  waves  of  this  troublesome 
world. 

But  while  sending  to  instruct  us  those  of  like  passions 
with  ourselves,  God  might  doubtless  have  confined  Him- 
self, had  He  so  pleased,  to  ijispired  men — men  secured 
from  error  by  virtue  of  their  inspiration.  And  without 
continuing  a  succession  of  such  men  in  the  Church,  He 
might  (as  He  has  done)  have  caused  their  Avritings  to  be 
preserved  and  collected  into  one  Volume,  and  might  have 
given  us  no  other  guidance  than  that  of  this  Book  of 
Truth.  But  the  point  to  which  we  now  call  attention  is, 
that  it  has  pleased  Him  to  indicate  for  us,  in  this  very 
Book  of  Truth,  another  means  of  guidance.  Neither 
Timothy  nor  Titus  were  inspired  men  ;  yet  they  are  ex- 
horted to  "  give  attendance  to  exhortation  and  doctrine  ;" 
"  to  command  and  teach"  certain  truths  which  they  had 
received  from  the  Apostles^;  to  "divide  rightly  the  word 
of  truth  ;  "  to  "  preach  the  word  ;"  to  "  reprove,  rebuke, 


106  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.         [paei 

exhort ;  "  "to  speak  the  things  which  become  sonncl  doc- 
trine ;  "  "  to  affirm  constantly"  certain  faithful  sayings. 
And  the  things  wliich  they  have  heard  from  the  Aj^ostle 
they  are  "  to  commit  to  faitliful  men,  who  shall  be  able 
to  teach  others  also  ; "  they  are  "  to  ordain  bishops,  who 
shall  be  apt  to  teach,"  and  "  able  by  sound  doctrine  both 
to  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gainsayers."  It  is  clear 
from  the  whole  tenour  of  these  passages  that,  over  and 
above  the  Holy  Scriptures,  a  living  Ministry  of  the  Word 
is  provided,  to  continue  for  ever  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
But  it  is  not  equally  clear  what  the  grounds  of  this  ar- 
rangement are,  nor  how  easily  by  our  formality  and  v/ant 
of  reflection  we  may  nullify  the  provision. 

"Why,  it  may  be  reasonably  asked,  was  not  the  whole 
weight  of  the  instruction  of  Christendom  rested  on  the 
Scriptures  of  Truth  ?  Why  must  commissioned  men  have 
any  share  in  it  ?  The  Scriptures  are  infallible  ;  whereas 
uninspired  ministers  are  not  only  fallible,  but  have  often 
actually  fouled  the  clear  well  of  Scriptural  truth  with  the 
turbid  sediment  of  their  own  perverse  interpretations. 
Would  it  not  have  shut  up  one  great  avenue  of  error,  if 
Christ  had  given  no  commission  of  teaching  or  preaching 
except  to  His  inspired  Apostles,  and  had  simply  made 
ordinary  ministers  chargeable  with  the  ministration  of 
the  Sacraments,  andtlie  conduct  of  public  worship  ?  Nay  ; 
but  God  will  risk  much — much  of  error,  much  of  infir- 
mity, much  of  misrepresentation, — if  so  be  He  may  secure 
a  warm,  living,  sympathetic,  experimental  delivery  of 
His  message.  Even  Inspiration  places  too  great  a  gulf 
between  the  inspired  teacher,  and  those  whom  he  is  set 
to  instruct ;  the  teacher  will  be  of  more  help  to  the  scholar 
in  some  respects  (not  indeed*  as  an  infallible  oracle,  but 
as  a  counsellor  in  actual  trials  and  emergencies),  if  both 


n.]  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  107 

have  only  the  same  ordinary  assistances  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  if  both  live  contemporaneously,  in  the  same  outward 
condition,  and  in  the  same  stage  of  thought.     The  best 
of  books  is  but  a  book,  written  indeed  in  the  full  foresi«2:Iit 
of  future  contingencies  by  the  Divine  Inspirer,  and  with 
the  fullest  insight  into  the  human  heart ;  but  at  the  same 
time  v/ritten  long  ago,  in  states  of  society  widely  dijSferent 
from  any  vrhich  now  exist,  and  teeming  with  allusions  to 
manners,  and  customs,  and  institutions,  which  have  long 
since  passed  away.     It  will  be    a  help,  surely,  a  great 
help  for  the  right  apprehension  of  it,  if  its  truths  come  to 
us  bathed  in  the  dye  and  rich  with  the  colours  of  a  living 
experience, — if  a  single  mind,  strongly  impressed  with 
one  or  more  testimonies  of  truth,  expounds,  enforces, 
illustrates  those  testimonies  in  our  hearing.     What  he 
says  may  be,  nay,  almost  certainly  will  be,  defective ; 
may   require  supplementing  by  other  minds,  which  are 
drawn  more  strongly  to  other  sides  of  Truth  ;  but  at  all 
events,  from  the  circumstance  of  its  having  taken  hold  of 
his  mind,  it  will  be  conveyed  with  a  force  which  it  would 
lack,  if  it  were  simply  read  out  of  the  Scriptures.     May 
we  say,  in  illustration  of  the  subject,  that  Preaching  is 
the  appointed  ordinance  for  turning  the  Yf  ord  of  God  into 
the  Voice  of  God  ?     There  is  a  great  difference  between 
a  word  and  a  voice.     A  voice  is  a  living  word.     A  sen- 
tence may  be  written  in  a  book  ;  but  it  wants  emphasis 
and  articulation  to  brinoj  out  to  the  ear  its  full  meaning]: 
and  its  harmonious  rhythm.     Preaching  is  for  the  empha-. 
sizing  of  the  written  Word  of  God ;  for  tlie  fastening 
close  attention  on  certain  parts  of  it ;  for  the  giving  it 
li;i;ht  and'  shadow,  and  thus  brincjina:  out  its  doctrines  in 
relief;  for  the  exhibition  of  the  glorious  harmony  which 
knits  together  in  unity  its  various  testimonies.      Thus 


108  Of  the  Sermon  or  InstruGtion.  [paet 

much  needed  to  be  said  of  it,  in  order  to  sliow  that  it 
comes  into  the  plan  of  God  for  the  edification  of  souls, 
and  that  it  is  no  mere  ornamental  adjunct  of  the  Ministry, 
but  an  essential  ordinance  of  it. 

And  if  any  thing  were  needed  to  vindicate  the  wisdom 
of  such  an  Ordinance,  surely  it  would  be  abundantly  suffi- 
cient to  quote  the  experience  of  the  Church  in  all  ages. 
The  Scriptures  she  has  always  possessed,  although  it  is 
only  since  the  invention  of  printing  and  the  general  diffu- 
sion of  elementary  education,  that  this  pearl  of  great  price 
has  become  accessible  to  every  one  who  bears  the  name 
of  Christian.     But  at  certain  periods,  and  in  certain  parts 
of  the  Church  at  all  periods,  preaching  has  been  entirely 
in  abeyance  ;  the  ministers  have  been  either  incompetent 
from  ignorance,  or  unwilling  from  indolence,  to  perform 
this  great  function.     And  what  has  been  the  character  of 
those  periods,  and  of  those  sections  of  the  Church,  during 
such  abeyance?     A    character    of  entire  deadness    and 
abject  superstition.     Religion  has  been  reduced  to  a  series 
of  rites,  which  have  been  regarded  by  the  people  with  a 
superstitious  awe,  but  have  taken  no  hold  whatever  of 
the    understanding  and  the    conscience.      It  is  so  now, 
amidst  all  the  religious  enlightenment  of  the  nineteenth 
century.    Churches  where  there  is  no  })reaching  are  in  an 
impotent,  lifeless,  and   corrupting  state.     And  wherever 
there  is  a  revival  of  life  in  them,  there  preaching,  in  one 
form  or  another,  has  been  the  main  kistrumentality  by 
.which  the  revival  has  been  brought  about.     It  has  been 
found  fallacious  (however   plausible)  to   allege  :   ''•In  all 
civilized  Christian  countries  are  not  the  Scriptures  and 
good   books  open  to   the  people?"     Experienpe    shows 
that,  though  they  may  be  open,  they  are  not  read  without 
some  additional  stimulus.     People  ha'S'e  not  much  time 


II.]      .       Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  109 

for  reading,  nor  in  general  much  disposition  for  it.     And 
it  comes  to  pass,  accordingly,  that  the  majority  hear  very 
little  of  the  Word  of  God,  if  their  attention  is  not  regular- 
ly called  to  it  in  Church.     Nothing  can  prove  more  con- 
clusively than  this  fact  of  experience  the  wisdom  of  the 
arrangement  which  has  provided  for  a  succession  of  un- 
inspired teachers  and  preachers  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
But  we  said  above,  that  by  our  formality  and  thought- 
lesness  we  might  easily  nullify  this  provision  made  by 
God  for  the  edification  of  His  Church.     Indeed,  it  may 
be    so.      The  gi'eat  object  of  preaching  being  that  the 
Truth  of  God  may  reach  the  people  through  the  mind 
and  heart  of  the  minister,  this  object  is  of  course  frustrated 
if  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  minister  be  not  really  brought 
iu  contact  with  the  Truth.     It  necessarily  follows  from 
what  has  been  said  that,  if  the  Sermon  be  not  (I  do  not 
say  brilliant  or  eloquent,  but)  thoughtful  and  to  a  certain 
extent  experimental,  there  might  as  well  be  no  Sermon 
at  all.     In  that  case  the  form  of  the  Ordinance  is  complied 
with,  but  the  spirit  of  it  is  disregarded.     The  Sermon. is 
only  valuable  as  an  exposition  of  sonae  truth^-or  truths- — 
Avhicli  has  taken  hold  of  the  j^reacher's  mind,  which  has 
at  the  very  least  interested  him,  or  (much  better)  struck 
him  forcibly  as  a  motive  to  godliness  ;  and  if  this  be  n(jt 
the  case,  if  it  is  to  be  reduced  to  a  string  of  texts,  or  a 
mere  repetition  (in  much  feebler  language)  of  Scriptural 
doctrines  or  precepts,  surely  the  obligation  to  say  some- 
thing (v/hen  there  is  really  nothing  to  say)  might  as  well 
be  dispensed  with.     The  preacher's  ofiice  is  to  give  the 
people  the  result  of  his  meditation  on  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
thus  to  guide  them  in  the  arduous  task  of  meditating  for 
themselves.     But  if  in  no  sense  he  meditates — it'  he  brings 
neither  mind,  nor  conscience,  nor  heart  to  the  inspired 


110  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  [paet 

passages  which  he  proposes  to  illustrate — surely  the  Or- 
dinance is  in  that  particular  case  liable  to  be  frustrated. 

We  have  seen  what  the  substantial  part  of  Preaching 
is,  and  what  is  the  ground  of  its  efficacy.  A  few  remarks 
may  appropriately  be  added  on  its  outward  form.  It 
might  be  not  unreasonably  thought  that  in  these  days, 
when  admirable  works  of  Devotion  are  so  multiplied, 
Preaching  might  be  at  all  events  for  the  educated  and 
reading  classes  dispensed  with.  '  If  its  essence  be  the  in- 
struction of  man  by  man  in  I>ivine  Truth,  this,  it  may  be 
supposed,  would  be  as  much  secured  by  reading  a  work 
of  piety  (perhaps  itself  a  Sermon)  as  by  hearing  a  Ser- 
mon in  the  Church.  Without  questioning  that  a  great  bless- 
ing may  rest  (and  often  has  rested)  upon  the  reading 
of  good  books,  we  are  unable  to  assent  to  the  force  of  this 
reasoning.  It  is  open  to  any  author  to  publish  a  religious 
work ;  and  if  an  ordaiqed  minister  does  so,  he  hardly 
stands  upon  his  commission  when  he  does  it,  but  rather 
upon  the  general  right,  which  he  shares  in  common  with 
others,  to  put  forth  whatever  he  thinks  may  edify  and  in- 
struct the  public.  He  is  no  longer  speaking  ex  catJiedrd  ; 
and  accordingly  what  he  says  becomes  a  mere  expression 
of  private  opinion,  without  any  official  sanction.  It  is 
diffisrent  surely  with  words  spoken  from  the  pulpit.  They 
are  spoken  in  the  very  theatre  of  the  Ordinances  of  Relig- 
ion. He  who  speaks,  although  he  speaks  fallibly,  yet 
speaks  in  virtue  of  his  commission,  and  sits  for  the  time 
being  in  the  chair  of  One  greater  than  Moses.  It  is 
strictly  an  official  transaction ;  and  the  office  is  no  less 
than  the  ministry  of  souls.  The  address  is  preceded 
and  followed  by  prayer,  and  forms,  as  we  now  see,  an 
integral  part  of  the  highest  Service  of  the  Church.  In  a 
word,  the  Sermon  here  appears  in  the  character  which 


n.]  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  Ill 

some  vv-ould  refuse  to  it,  but  which  we  stoutly  assert  for 
it, — the  character  of  an  Ordinance  of  Religion,  founded  on 
Our  Lord's  commission  to  the  Twelve,  and  on  St.  Paul's 
charge  to  the  uninspired  Timothy.  Surely  this  is  a  very 
miuch  more  solemn  delivery  of  God's  message  than  any 
diffusion  of  it  by  means  of  the  press,  and  one  on  which  His 
especial  Blessing  may  be  expected  to  attend,  whenever 
the  hearts  of  preachers  and  people  are  set  to  the  right  key. 
And  we  cannot  but  think  that,  upon  the  whole,  the 
experience  of  Christians  affirms  the  difference  between 
Truth  announced  under,  and  Truth  announced  independ- 
ently of,  the  Divine  Commission.  Do  sermons,  when 
read,  usually  make  the  same  impression  as  the  same 
sermons  when  preached  ?  Or  do  they  seem  to  have  lost 
something  of  their  fire,  and  fervour,  and  special  inter- 
est ?  If  so,  what  reason  can  be  assigned  for  the  differ- 
ence? Doubtless  there  are  certain  natural  causes  in 
operation  to  produce  the  effect.  It  cannot  be  disputed 
that  oral  deUvery,  with  all  its  accompaniments  of  gesture, 
look,  intonation,  gives  an  effect  to  words,  and  brings 
them  into  a  relief,  if  I  may  so  say,  which  they  cannot 
have,  while  they  lie  flat  and  mute  on  the  page.  But  this 
and  other  natural  laws  are  probably  made  subordinate  by 
God,  in  working  out  the  efficacy  of  His  Ordinance. 
Grace  attends  those  Ordinances,  whenever  they  are  duly 
administered  ;  and  Grace  turns  the  mere  circumstantials 
to  account,  and  makes  them  minister  to  the  general 
effect. 

It  only  remains  to  remark  that  but  one  Sermon  is 
provided  for  by  our  Prayer  Book  ;  and  that  this  occurs  as 
a  part  of,  and  is  embraced  within,  the  Communion  Office, 
The  circumstance  is  not  without  a  very  important  lesson, 


112  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction,         [pakt 

which  we  shall  do  well  to  carry  away.  Our  Prayer 
Book  gives  us  tlie  perfect  theory  of  Divine  Worship,  as 
distinct  from  the  disturbances  and  modifications  which 
circumstances  introduce  into  the  theory ;  and  the  theory 
is,  that  there  shall  be  liiit  one  Sermon  on  each  Sunday 
and  Festival.  The  necessity  of  attaching  a  Sermon  (as  is 
usually  done)  to  each  Service,  arises  merely  from  the 
fact  that  a  very  large  portion  of  our  congregations,  being 
unable  to  come  to  church  in  the  morning,  would  never 
hear  a  sermon  at  all,  unless  one  were  delivered  at  the 
later  Services.  And  the  desirableness  of  multiplying 
these  opportunities  of  illustrating  and  enforcing  the  Word 
of  God,  arises  from  a  circumstance,  which  is  no  necessity 
at  all,  but  the  fault  of  our  age, — the  mental  indolence  of 
hearers.  It  is  an  age,  alas  !  of  much  ^hearing,  and  of 
much  running  to  and  fro  in  order  to  hear,  but  of  lament- 
ably little  thought.  Men  like  to  be  stirred  by  impressive 
appeals — as  many  as  you  please,  one  dislodging  the  other 
incontinently  from  the  mind, — but  they  do  not  like  to 
carry  those  appeals  home,  to  turn  them  over  in  their 
minds,  to  compare  them  with  Holy  Scripture,  to  extract 
spiritual  nourishment  from  them  by  meditation,  to  found 
prayers  upon  them  in  the  week.  They  will  sit  passive  to 
receive  emotions  ;  but  they  will  not  exert  themselves  to 
foster  those  emotions,  to  consider  the  grounds  of  them, 
to  nurse  them  in  the  warm  hotbed  of  the  heart,  till  they 
burst  into  the  green  shoot  of  spiritual  life.  If  Ave  could  find 
now-a-days  a  meditative  hearer,  who  did  not  merely  submit 
himself  to  be  wrought  upon,  but  co-operate  with  the 
preacher  by  an  effort  afterwards  to  recall,  to  retain,  to  pon- 
der, and  to  pray,  we  do  not  scruple  to  say  that  in  his  case 
one  sermon  would  be  more  profitable— far  more  profit- 
able— than  two  ;  nay,  that  the  spiritual  instincts  of  such 


n.]  Of  the  Sermon  or  Instruction.  113 

an  one  wonld  lead  liim,  after  the  Eucharist  of  the  morn- 
]*Dg,  to  desire  nothing  more  beyond  the  Evensong  of  the 
Church,  fully,  and  decorously,  and  joyously  performed. 
The  real  truth  is,  that  a  mind  seriously  occupied  with  one 
line  of  thought  resents  as  an  interference  the  intrusion  of 
another,  which  is  entirely  different.  But,  alas  !  we  have 
to  deal  in  general  with  minds  too  indolent,  and  too  little 
interested  in  our  great  themes,  to  give  them  any  after- 
thought, and  we  must  deal  with  men  as  we  find  them, 
and  as  the  discursive  habits  of  thought  now  popular  have 
made  them  ;  and,  without  assuming  that  they  will  ponder 
what  they  hear,  must  fling  abroad  much  seed  of  God's 
Word,  to  multiply  the  chances  of  some  seed  clinging  to 
the  soil. 

But  it  is  a  shallow  habit  of  mind,  that  of  dismissing 
the  preacher's  topic  as  soon  as  he  has  b,een  heard  out ; 
and  so  long  as  it  continues  in  hearers,  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered dt  that  we  see  little  fruit  of  preaching.  God  requires 
of  us  that  we  should  be  in  His  House  something  more 
than  mere  recipients  of  impressions.  He  requires  spiritual 
diligence  on  our  part,  before  He  will  bless  what  we 
hear  to  our  real  furtherance  in  knowledge  and  in  grace. 
May  we  one  and  all  of  us  lay  it  to  heart !  To  be  hearers 
of  His  word  is  little  ;  nay,  only  entails  upon  us  an  ad- 
ditional responsibility.  May  He  make  us  intelligent,  in- 
quiring, thoughtful  listeners,  who  in  an  honest  and  good 
heart,  having  heard  the  Word,  keep  it,  and  bring  forth 
fruit  wdth  patience ! 


114  Of  the  Alms  and  Oblations  /  and  of  the   [p^kt 


LECTUEE    Y. 

OF   THE    ALMS   AND    OBLATIONS  ;     AND     01?     TBE    SACRIFI- 
CIAL   CHAKACTEPt   OF   THE    HOLY   COMMUNION. 

"  IJ  spcaft  as  to  iDi.^e  men ;  jutiae  je  iBlj^tt  K  sao.  STfjc  cup  of 
bkssutn  to|)ic5  toe  fikss,  is  it  not  \\)Z  communion  of  t!)c  blooD  of 
€:|)vist  ?  2ri)c  fttcati  U)l)ic|)  luc  bvcaft,  is  it  not  t!)c  communion  of 
t1)?r  ftott^)  of  €:l)vist?  iFov  toe  feeing  manij  are  one  ircatJ^  anU 
one  bo03  :  for  toe  are  all  |)artafeers  of  t!)at  one  i)reaS3.  33r1)olli 
Israel  after  tt^e  flesl) :  are  not  tijen  to])tc!)  cat  of  tfje  sacrifices 
^jartakers  of  t|)e  altar?  S5^I)at  saw  £  t!)en?  t|)at  tije  inol  is 
an])  t|)in2,  or  tijat  toijicl)  is  ofcrcti  in  sacrifice  to  lUoIs  is 
anw  ti)in3?  33ut  £  san,  tijat  tlje  tljinfis  tol^ic!)  tje  Gentiles 
sacrifice,  tlKi'  sacrifi'ce  to  licbils,  antf  not  to  (fSoli :  anti  K  tooiiln 
not  tijat  jje  sljoulo  f)alie  fcIlotosi)ip  toitl)  Oebtls.  Ye  cannot  UrinS; 
t|)e  cu})  of  t|)c  SLortf,  anO  tfjc  t\u)  of  licbils:  jjc  cannot  be  par= 
tatters  of  tl)e  2-orti\«  gTable,  anti  of  tl)e  ta&le  of  Dcbils.  I3o  toe 
|]robolte  tije  S-orH  to  jealousy  ?  ♦♦— 1  Con.  x.  15—22. 

The  Sermon  ended,  an  entirely  new  feature  of  the 
Office  of  the  Holy  Communion  comes  into  view,  which  is 
thenceforth  developed  in  several  diiferent  forms.  This 
is  the  Sacrificial  character  of  the  Office,  which  we  pro- 
pose to  exhibit  in  the  present  Chapter. 

The  Priest  returns  to  the  Lord's  Table,  and  begins 
the  Offertory,  saying  one  or  more  sentences  of  Scripture 
(the  majority  of  them  advocate  almsgiving  in  general ; 
four  set  forth  the  claim  which  the  clergy  have  for  main- 
tenance upon  those  whom  they  minister),  during  the 
reading  of  which  his  "  Deacons,  Churchwardens,  or  other 
fit  persons,  receive  the  Alms  for  the  Poor,  and  other  de- 
votions of  the  People,  and  reverently  bring  such  alms  to 


n.]  Sacrificial  Character  of  Holy  Commimion.  115 

the  Priest,  who  himiLly  presents  and  places  them  on  the 
Lord's  Table."  Then  the  Priest  is  directed  to  "  place 
upon  the  Table  so  much  Bread  and  Wine  as  he  shall 
think  sufficient."  Both  these  are  X)fferings  by  act  and 
deed.  The  verbal  offering  follows  immediately  ;  for  the 
first  petition  in  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant 
runs  thus  :  "  "We  humbly  beseech  Thee  most  mercifully 
accept  our  alms  and  ohlations.'^ 

The  questions  which  arise  on  reading  these  Rubrics,  and 
which  require  a  brief  answer  here,  arc,  "  What  are  the 
other  devotions  of  the  People,  distinct  from  their  alms  ? ' 
and  "  What  is  meant  by  the  oblations,  as  distinct  from 
the  alms,  in  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant?"  These 
are  moot  points,  upon  which  learned  men  have  disagi'eed  ; 
and  I  therefore  offer  my  judgment  upon  them  with  great 
diffidence.  Moreover,  the  investigation  of  these  points  in 
your  hearing  w^ould  divert  us  too  much  from  the  great 
bearings  of  the  subject ;  and  we  must  therefore  ask  you 
to  accept  our  conclusion,  without  the  grounds  upon  which  . 
it  has  been  formed.  It  appears  to  us,  then,  that  the  com- 
pilers of  this  and  other  Offices  of  the  Eeformed  Church 
have  been  anxious  to  keep  as  far  as  possible  to  the  primi- 
tive model,  without  providing  for  any  modifications  of 
detail,  which  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  Church  mi^ht 
from  time  to  time  necessitate.  In  the  primitive  age  of  the 
Church  there  v/ere  devotions  of  the  people,  made  at  the 
Holy  Communion,  which  did  not  fall  under  the  head  of 
alms.  Not  very  long  ago  tithes  used  to  be  paid  amon"' 
ourselves  in  kind  ;  and  in  quite  the  old  days  corn,  bread, 
wine,  oil.  Church  ornaments,  robes  for  the  clergy, 
chalices,  and  other  sacred  vessels  for  the  Altar,  used  to 
be  offered  at  the  Holy  Communion,  as  well  as  money. 
This  is  a  well-ascertained  fact ;  and  side  by  side  with  it  is 


116  Of  the  Alms  and  Ohlations  j  and  of  the  [part 

another  fact,  wliich  will  be  found  helpful  in  illustrating 
the  subject. 

The  Bread  and  Wine  to  be  consecrated  were  not,  as 
now,  "  provided  by  the  Curate  and  Churchwardens  at  the 
charges  of  the  Parish,"  but  were  taken  by  the  officiating 
Priest  out  of  the  Bread  and  Wine  brought  as  an  offering 
(for  the  sustentation  of  the  Clergy  and  the  Poor)  to  the 
great  Christian  Festival.     Let  us  bear  in  mind  also  the 
circumstance   which   has   been   brought  before  us  in  a 
previous  Lecture,  that  in  the  Apostolic  times  the  Eucha- 
rist was  celebrated  in  the  course  of  an   actual  meal,  to 
Avhich  all  who  could  afford  to  do   so  contributed  a  small 
stock   of   provisions.      These  provisions  would  always 
partly  consist  of  Bread  and  Wine,  whatever  else  might  be 
added ;  and  of  this  Bread  and  Wine  a  portion  would  be 
consecrated,  for  the  purpose  of  the  Ordinance  ;  while  the 
rest  would  be  consumed  at  the  Love-Feast  or  Supper  in 
connexion  with  it.     Taking  these  facts  into  consideration, 
and  v^^eighing  what  else  has  been  said  on  either  side  of 
the  subject,  it  seems  to  us  that  by  the  words,  "  oilier  de- 
votions of  the  people ^^'  as  well  as  by  the  word  "  oblations,'' 
in  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant,  is  meant  first  the 
Bread  and  Wine,  Mdiich  have  just  been  placed  upon  the 
Holy  Table,  and  which  as  they  are  (or  ought  to  be)  pro- 
vided at  the  charges  of  the  Parish,  are  an  oblation  which 
comes  from  the  people  ;  and,  secondly,  any  offerings  which 
maybe  made  at  that  time  (whether  in  the  form* of  money, 
or  in  any   other    shape)  for  pious  purposes,  as   distinct 
from  the  relief  of  the  poor. 

Such  offerings  in  these  days  might  take  the  shape  of 
a  contribution  (folded  in  paper,  and  the  object  specified) 
to  some  of  our  great  Christian  Societies,  or  of  an  addition 
to  the  endowment  of  a  Church,  or  some  aid  in  the  main- 


n.]  Sacrificial  Character  of  Holy  Communion.  117 

tenance  of  the  current  expenses  of  Divine  Worship.  For 
note  the  direction  of  the  fiaal  Rubric  in  the  English  office 
as  to  the  disposal  of  monies  collected  at  the  Offertery : 
"After  the  Divine  Service  ended,  the  money  given  at  the 
Offertory  shall  be  disposed  of  to  such  j9^o?4s  OMd  charitable 
uses  as  the  Minister  and  Churchwardens  shall  think  fit." 
Observe, — not  charitable  exclusively,  but  '^  pious  and 
cJiariiahle."  The  money  given  specifically  for  charitable 
uses  I,  take  to  be  the  Alms.  The  money  given  specifically 
for  pious  uses  I  take  to  be  part  of  the  oblations.  But  as 
matters  stand  now,  the  principal  oblation,  and  generally 
speaking  the  only  one,  is  the  Bread  and  Wine,  vv^hich  are 
to  be  placed  upon  God's  Board,  as  we  have  seen,  imme- 
diately after  the  Alms.  When  the  words,  "  We  beseech 
Thee  mercifully  to  accept  our  alms  and  oblations,"  follow 
immediately  after  these  arrangements,  it  is  hard  indeed 
to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  Bread  and  Wine  are  re- 
garded as  oblations. 

Now  this  word  "  oblations  "  (however  we  may  choose 
to  interpret  it)  leads  us  at  once  to  the  Sacrificial  charac- 
ter of  the  Eucharist.  An  oblation  is  an  oftering  made  to 
God.  The  first  oblations  we  read  of  as  made  in  the 
Christian  Church  arc  thus  described  :  "  Neither  was  there 
any  among  them  that  lacked  :  for  as  many  as  were  pos- 
sessors of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the 
prices  of  the  things  that  were  sold,  and  laid  them  down 
at  the  Apostles'  feet." 

And  that  the  giving  of  money  or  property  for  pious 
and  charitable  uses  has  a  true  and  real  sacrificial  char- 
acter, is  shown  by  plain  testimonies  of  Holy  Scripture  : 
"  But  to  do  good  and  to  communicate  forget  not ;  for  with 
such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased."  And  it  is  some- 
what remarkable  that  St.  Paul,  who  in   the  Epistle  to 


118   Of  the  Alms  and  Oblations  ;  and  of  the  [part 

the  Epliesians  speaks  of  the  Sacrifice  of  Christ  (which 
surely  must  stand  alone  in  all  its  glorious  and  unap- 
proachable Virtue)  as  "an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God 
for  a  sweet-smelling  savour,"  does  not  hesitate,  in  that  to 
the  Philippians,  to  speak  in  similar  terms  of  the  miserable 
and  flawed  offerings,  which  God  condescends  to  accept 
from  His  people  for  the  service  of  His  Church  and  poor. 
"  I  have  all,  and  abound,"  sa3^s  the  Apostle,  acknowledg- 
ing the  supplies  which  had  reached  him  through  Epapli- 
roditus ;  "I  am  full,  having  received  of  Epaphroditus 
the  things  which  were  sent  from  you,  an  odour  of  a 
sweet  smell,  a  sacrifice  acceptable,  well  pleasing'  to 
God." 

We  have  no  difficulty,  then,  in  justifying  from  Holy 
Scripture  the  words,  "  We  beseech  Thee  mercifully  to 
accept  our  alms  and  oblations."  But  the  great  prayer 
passes  on  rapidly  to  the  recognition  of  another  sort  of 
Sacrifice  :  ''  And  to  receive  tlie&e  our  prayers^  which  we 
offer  unto  Thy  Divine  Majesty." 

All  prayer, — intercessory  prayer  particularly, — is  an 
oblation.  Incense  was  a  constant  offering  under  the  Old 
Dispensation ;  and  prayer  is  spiritual  incense,  an  odour 
of  pious  affections  and  desires,  kindled  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  upon  the  heart's  altar,  and  ascending  thence  to 
Him  who  kindled  it.  And,  accordingly,  'it  is  written, 
"  Let  my  prayer  be  set  forth  before  Thee  as  incense ; 
and  the  lifting  np  of  my  hands  as  the  evening  sacrifice." 
— For  prayer  in  its  sacrificial  aspect  see  also  the  eighth 
chapter  of  the  Revelation, — a  most  precious  passage, 
as  showing  that  angels  are  employed  in  sending  our 
prayers  aloft,  and  presenting  them  before  God,  and  also 
that  it  is  only  in  virtue  of  their  union  with  the  much  iu- 
nf^Tifip.  of  Ciur  Lord's   Intercession   that  thev  can  nossiblv 


ii]  Sacrifioial  Character  of  Holy  Communion.   119 

bs  accepted  :  "  And  another  angel  came  and  stood  at  the 
altar,  having  a  golden  censer  ;  and  there  was  given  unto 
him  much  incense^  that  he  should  offer  it  with  the  prayers 
of  all  saints  upon  the  golden  altar  which  was  before 
the  throne." — Compare  also  the  striking  words  of  the 
angel  to  Cornelius  :  "  Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are 
come  up  for  a  memorial  before  God."  Our  prayers, 
then,  in  addition  to  our  alms,  are  a  sacrifice  well  pleasing 
to  God,  through  Jesus  Christ. 

But  we  pass  on  rapidly  to  the  latter  part  of  the  Prayer 
of  Consecration,  where  we  find  two  more  ideas  in  connex- 
ion with  sacrifice  developed.  The  first  is,  that  the  entire 
Office  of  the  Communion,  the  Avhole  act  from  beorinnino; 
to  end,  is  ''  a,  sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving." 
"  We,  Thy  humble  servants,  entirely  desire  Thy  fatherly 
goodness  mercifully  to  accept  this  our  sacrifice  of  praise 
and  thanksgi\'ing."  For  the  sacrificial  character  of  praise 
compare  Heb.  xiii.  15  :  "  By  Him  therefore  let  us  offer 
the  sacrifice  of  praise  of  God  continually,  that  is,  the 
fruit  of  our  lips  giving  thanks  to  His  Name." 

The  second  is,  that  inasmuch  as  we  renew  our  vows 
to  God  at  the  Holy  Table,  and  our  vows  resolve  them- 
selves into  self-surrender,  there  is  in  the  Communion  a 
presentation  of  ourselves  as  a  living  sacrifice,  according 
to  that  v\'ord  of  the  Apostle,  "  I  beseech  you  therefore, 
brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God, 
which  is  your  reasonable  service."  "•'  Here  we  offer  and 
present  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  ourselves,  our  souls  and 
bodies,  to  be  a  reasonable,  holy,  and  lively  sacrifice  unto 
Thee." 

The  sum  and  substance  of  wliat  has  been  said  is,  that 


120  Of  the  Alms  and  Oblations  ;  and  of  the  [part 

alms,  prayer,  praise,  self-surrender,  are  all  spoken  of  as 
sacrifices  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  inasmuch  as  these 
religious  exercises  all  find  a  place  in  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion, and  all  culminate  there,  the  Act  which  embraces 
all  tliese  in  itself  must  be  sacrificial. 

But  is  the  Eucharist  itself,  apart  from  the  devotional 
exercises  Avith  which  it  is  connected,  of  a  sacrificial  char- 
acter? "We  entirely  believe  so.  We  have  already  seen 
that  the  Bread  and  Wine  (which  are  the  riiaterials  of  the 
Sacrament)  are  spoken  of,  before  their  consecration,  as 
"  oblations,"  which  God  is  besought  mercifully  to  accept. 
In  the  American  Office  they  are  again  offered  to  God, 
after  the  hand  of  the  Priest  has  been  laid  upon  them,  in 
the  following  terms  :  "  Wherefore,  O  Lord  and  heavenly 
Father,  according  to  the  institution  of  Thy  dearly  beloved 
Son  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  we.  Thy  humble  servants, 
do  celebrate  and  make  here  before  Thy  Divine  Majesty, 
with  these  Thy  holy  gifts,  which  we  now  offer  unto  Thee, 
the  memorial  Thy  Son  hath  commanded  us  to  make." 
There  is  a  very  precious  lesson  in  this  second  offering 
of  the  Bread  and  Wine  in  a  new  character,  which  Ave 
could  not  willingly  forfeit.  When  they  are  first  present- 
ed, it  is  simply  as  offerings  made  out  of  our  substance 
towards  the  Divine  Service.  But  by  the  imposition  of 
hands  they  are  set  apart  to  signify  (and  in  the  case  of 
the  faithful  to  communicate  the  virtue  of)  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  and  by  presenting  them 
to  God  as  symbols  of  that  Body  and  Blood,  we  plead 
with  Him  (by  a  significant  action)  the  merits  of  Christ's 
Death.  The  Holy  Eucharist,  be  it  remembered,  is  a 
memorial  of  the  Lord's  Death,  made  not  simply  to  man 
and  for  man's  behoof,  but  made  also  before  God's  Divine 
Majesty,  to  remind  Him  (if  I  may  so  say)  of  all  that 


n.]  Sacrificial  Cliaracter  of  Holy  Communion.  1 21 

His  Son,  in  our  nature,  underwent  and  suffered  for  us. 
In  prayer  we  often  verbally  allege  to  Him  Christ's  suf- 
ferings as  a  valid  plea  for  mercy  and  grace.  In  the  Eu- 
charist we  allege  the  same  thing  in  action.  And  in  this 
second  Oblation  of  the  Elements  the  allegation  is  exphc- 
itly  made  :  "  We  do  celebrate  and  make  here  before  Thy 
Divine  Majesty,  with  these  Thy  boly  gifts,  which  we  now 
offer  unto  Thee,  the  memorial  Thy  Son  hath  commanded 
us  to  make  ;  having  iu  remembrance  His  blessed  passion 
and  precious  death.  His  mighty  resurrection  and  glorious 
ascension  ;  rendering  unto  Thee  most  hearty  thanks  for 
the  innumerable  benefits  procured  unto  us  by  the  same." 
A  certain  Christian  sect,  the  members  of  which  appre- 
ciate fully  the  attractiveness  of  the  Ritual,  have  felt  so 
deeply  the  pathos  and  beauty  of  this  solemn  memorial- 
izing of  God  by  the  presentation  of  the  Consecrated  Ele- 
ments, that  the  presentation  is  always  made  by  them  in 
the  course  of  Morning  and  Evening  prayer,  even  when 
there  is  no  Communion.  A  certain  portion  of  the  Bread 
and  Wine  is  reserved  for  this  purpose,  and  at  a  certain 
period  of  the  Service,  placed  in  silence  upon  the  Holy 
Table.  Our  Church  does  not  perform  this  action,  except 
in  connexion  with,  and  as  part  of,  the  Communion  Office. 
But  it  may  be  asked  (and  it  will  be  anxiously  asked  by 
some),  "•  Is  the  sacrificial  character  of  the  Eucharist 
maintained  or  implied  in  Holy  Scripture  ?  "  We  quite 
beb'eve  so.  We  believe  that  a  full  recognition  of  this 
sacrificial  character  is  virtually  contained  in  the  text ; 
that  any  candid  pe'rson,  studying  the  argument  of  this 
inspired  passage,  will  not  be  able  to  resist  the  conclusion 
that  the  Communion  is  sacrificial.  The  Apostle  is  dis- 
suading the  Corinthian  Christians  from  participating  in 
meats  that  had  been  offered  to  idols.  He  does  this  by 
6 


122  Of  the  Alms  and  Oblations  /  and  of  the  [part 

reference  to  a  principle  well  known  and  admitted  among 
the  Jews — that  those  who  ate  of  a  sacritice,  part  of 
which  had  been  offered  to  God,  wei;e  sharers  with  the 
Altar.  The  part  consumed  upon  the  Altar  was  the  Al- 
tar's share  ;  and  the  Altar  represented  God,  who  in  sac- 
rifice was  supposed  to  hold  communion  with  the  worship- 
per by  a  participation  of  common  food  with  him.  Apply 
this  principle,  then,  to  the  idol-sacrifices,  which  are  con- 
sumed by  the  heathen  worshippers,  after  they  have  been 
presented  to  the  idol.  As  heathendom  is  under  the 
dominion  of  Satan,  who  is  the  ruler  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  it  is  to  him  and  his  angels — in  short,  to  devils 
— that  heathen  sacrifices  are  really  (albeit  unconsciously) 
offered.  The  idol,  the  mere  image  of  wood  and  stone, 
is  in  itself  nothing ;  but  it  represents  the  Devil,  who  is 
behind  it,  and  is  upholding  the  great  system  of  idolatry 
in  the  world.  By  eating  of  an  idol-sacrifice,  then,  a 
man  becomes  sharer  of  the  Devil's  board,  and  hath  a 
fellowship  with  devils.  Now,  asks  the  Apostle,  is  there 
not  a  gross  and  grievous  inconsistency,  obvious  to  com- 
mon sense,  in  a  man's  seeking  to  share  both  the  Lord's 
Table  and  the  Table  of  devils  ?  In  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion, the  Christian  shares  with  the  Lord.  In  partaking 
of  the  meat  offered  to  idols,  he  shares  with  the  Devil. 
"  Do  we  provoke  the  Lord  to  jealousy,"  by  dividing  our 
participation  between  Him  and  devils — sharing  first  of 
His  Board  in  the  Christian  assembly,  and  then  sharing 
of  the  Devil's  Board  at  some  heathen  entertainment,  a 
few  hours  afterwards  ?  Such  is  manifestly  the  tenour 
of  the  argument. — But  does  it  not  virtually  imply  that 
the  Lord's  Supper  stands  to  Christians  in  the  place  which 
idol-sacrifices  and  Jewish  sacrifices  held  respectively  to 
heathen  and  Jewish  worshippers?    Deny  this  altogether ; 


n.]  Sacrificial  Character  of  Holy  Communion.  123 

maintain  that  there  is  no  analoo^y  between  a  Jewish  sac- 
rifice and  the  Holy  Communion,  and  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  sacrifice  competent  to  worshippers  under  the 
Gospel ;  and  do  you  not  cut  away  the  ground  from  un- 
der the  Apostle's  argument?  "Whereas  admit  (what 
indeed  no  one  would  think  of  denying,  except  from  con- 
troversial prepossessions)  that  the  Lord's  Table  is  the 
Christian  Altar,  and  that  the  act  of  Communion  is  a 
really  sacrificial  act,  bringing  us  into  communion  with 
Christ,  as  the  eating  of  idol-sacrifices  brought  men  into 
communion  with  the  Devil,  and  as  the  eating  of  Jewish 
sacrifices  brought  men  into  communion  with  the  Cove- 
nant God  of  the  Jews  ;  and  the  argument  then  becomes 
clear  and  consistent,  and  the  practical  deduction  from  it 
inevitable. 

The  truth  is,  that  the  sacrificial  character  of  the  Eu- 
charist would  be  generally  recognized  by  all  thoughtful 
persons,  who  take  the  Scriptures  as  their  guide,  if  it 
were  not  feared  that  the  admission  would  be  in  favour 
of  the  Roman  view  of  the  Ordinance.  It  is  a  great 
mischief,  uniformly  attending  upon  perversions  of  the 
Truth  in  one  direction,  that  they  ensure  perversions  of 
it  in  the  other.  The  Roman  Church,  1200  years  after 
Christ,  invented  the  monstrous  figment  of  Transubstan- 
tiation,  in  virtue  of  which  it  is  pretended  (to  use  the 
language  of  our  thirty-first  Article)  that  "  the  Priest " 
in  the  Communion  doth  "  offer  Christ  for  the  quick  and 
the  dead,  to  have  remission  of  pain  or  guilt."  So  hor- 
rible a  blasphemy  (for  in  truth  it  is  nothing  less)  has 
very  naturally  made  Protestants  altogether  suspicious  of 
the  application  of  the  term  "  Sacrifice  "  to  the  Lord's 
Supper  ;  and  it  is  commonly  supposed  among  them  that 
to  invest  the  Ordinance  with  any  such  character  would 


124:  Of  the  Ahns  and  Oblations  ;  and  of  the   [part 

be  to  obscure  the  great  Offering  of  Calvary — that  "  per- 
fect redenoption,  propitiation,  and  satisfaction,"  Avhich 
was  once  made  "for  all  the  sins  of  the  whole  world," 
and  which  most  assuredly  can  never  be  repeated.  It  is 
asserted  also,  and  generally  received  as  indisputable, 
without  much  reflection  on  the  reasonableness  of  such  a 
view,  that  the  Old  Dispensation  had  sacrifices  continual- 
ly recurring,  which  were  in  truth  propitiatory  ;  but  that 
the  New  is  distinguished  froln  the  Old  by  the  circum- 
stance that  the  performance  of  sacrifice  by  worshippers 
is  abolished,  and  that  the  only  sacrifice  recognized  by 
the  Dispensation  is  that  offered  by  the  Eternal  Priest. 
But  there  is  here  a  large  amount  of  fallacy  and  confu- 
sion of  thought,  which  it  will  illustrate  our  subject  to 
disentangle.  There  is  none  otlier  satisfaction  for  sin, 
then,  but  the  Sacrifice  of  Christ  alone.  You  cannot 
make  this  assertion  in  terms  stronger  than  the  Scriptures 
warrant.  There  is  no  other  transaction  in  Heaven  or 
earth,  which  can  wash  away  a  single  stain  of  sin,  or 
relieve  a  single  burdened  conscience,  or  open  a  door  in 
Heaven  for  grace  and  mercy  to  stream  forth  upon  guilty 
man,  but  merely  and  exclusively  the  meritorious  Death 
of  Christ.  I  say,  no  otlier.  No  other  transaction, 
whether  under  the  Law  or  under  the  Gospel.  The 
Lord's  Supper  is  utterly  powerless  to  produce  these 
great  effects.  But  neither  could  the  legal  offerings  pro- 
duce them.  Their  incompetence  is  expressly  stated  by 
the  Apostle  :  "It  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  of  goats  should  take  away  sins."  And  what  is  said 
of  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  applies  with  equal  force 
to  any  religious  transaction  whatever,  the  agents  in 
which  are  human  worshippers  and  human  priests.  Oh, 
that  we  could  see  this  truth  as  God  sees  it !     The  most 


II.]  Sacrificial  Character  of  Holy  Communion.  125 

dignified  and  solemn  rite  in  the  world,  albeit  of  Divine 
Institution,  cannot  so  much  as  put  forth  a  finger  to  light- 
en the  load  of  human  guilt,  or  to  arrest  the  course  of 
God's  justice  upon  the  sinner;  nor  if  all  the  beasts  of 
Lebanon  were  slain  for  a  burnt- offering,  and  all  its  ce- 
dar forests  hewn  down  to  form  a  pile,  would  the  vast 
hecatomb  be  more  efficacious.  Why,  then,  it  may  be 
asked,  were  sacrifices  continually  offered  under  the  Law, 
if  they  could  not  (as  the  Apostle  assures  us  they  could 
not)  relieve  the  worshipper's  conscience,  nor  in  any  way 
affect  the  relations  betAveen  liim  and  God?  The  answer 
to  this  is,  first,  that  such  sacrifices  were  divinely  insti- 
tuted, and  were  therefore  binding  upon  the  ancient 
Church,  whether  they  could  or  could  not  see  the  ground 
of  them.  Secondly,  that,  as  being  divinely  instituted, 
they  must  have  been  in  some  degree  means  of  grace. 
Thirdly,  that  they  were  representations,  before  the  event, 
of  the  one  Offering  of  the  Death  of  Christ,  and,  as 
such,  consoled  the  faithful  with  the  thought  that  God 
would,  in  Plis  own  good  time,  provide  a  really  eificacious 
Atonement.  But  now,  is  there  no  Ordinance  under  the 
New  Testament,  which  exactly  meets  all  these  condi- 
tions, which  is  in  the  first  place  divinely  instituted,  in 
the  next  place  a  means  of  Grace,  in  the  third  place  a 
representation  (after  the  event)  of  the  Death  of  Christ? 
Can  it  be  denied  that  our  own  Church  at  least  (whatever 
may  be  the  case  with  the  Protestant  sects)  fully  and  em- 
phatically recognizes  all  these  attributes  as  attaching  to 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord?  Then  what  is  the  legitimate 
and  necessary  inference?  That  the  Supper  of  the  Lord 
(though  in  no  sense  expiatory)  is  the  Sacrifice  of  the 
New  Dispensation  ; — that  it  is  to  Memory  exactly  what 
the  Jewish  Sacrifices  were  to  Hope  ;  that  here  in  short. 


126  Of  the  Alms  and  Oblations  ;  and  of  the   [pajjt 

M^e  have  Sacrifice,  witli  its  external  form  altered  (as 
having  been  brought  out  into  the  light  of  a  better  Econ- 
omy), but  with  its  essential  features  (viz.,  Divine  institu- 
tion, instrumentality  of  Grace,  representation  of  the 
Lord's  Death)  remaining  untouched.  The  Gospel  is  a 
Dispensation  of  Mercy,  and  therefore  no  blood  flows  in 
our  Sacrifice,  as  in  those  of  the  Law,  which  worketh 
wrath.  Our  Sacrifice  is  a  very  simple  rite ;  for  the 
whole  character  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Clirist  is  sim- 
plicity combined  with  depth.  But  it  is  nO  less  a  com- 
memoration of  the  Death  of  Christ,  after  the  fact,  thaa 
the  legal  sacrifices  were  a  foreshadowing  of  it,  before  it 
took  place.  The  outpoured  wine  of  the  one  is  as  signifi- 
cant as  the  shed  blood  of  the  other.  "  For  as  often  as 
ye  eat  this  Bread,  and  drink  this  Cup,  ye  do  show  the 
Lord's  Death,  till  He  come." 

It  should  be  added,  by  way  of  completing  the  argu- 
ment, that  the  idea  of  sacrifice  being  necessarily  propitia- 
tory in  its  character  is  an  entire  misapprehension,  founded 
on  ignorance  (too  prevalent  unhappily  among  those  who 
pride  themselves  upon  adherence  to  Scripture)  of  the 
Jev/ish  Levitical  Law.  Expiation  of  sin  is  not  the  fun- 
damental idea  of  Sacrifice  at  all.  Sin-offerings  and 
trespass-offerings  no  doubt  there  were,  in  which  there 
ivas  a  remembrance  of  sin,  and  into  the  idea  of  which, 
therefore,  expiation  did  enter  as  one  element  of  them. 
But  these  were  only  particular  species  of  the  genus  Sac- 
rifice, which  embraced  besides  burnt-offerings,  meat- 
offerings, drink-offerings,  peace-offerings,  and  freewill- 
offerings.  The  fundamental  idea  of  all  these  varieties 
seems  to  be  man  rendering  unto  God  something  which 
pleases  and  satisfies  Him,  whether  in  the  way  of  self- 
surrender,  gratitude,  voluntary  acknowledgment,  or  ex- 


n.]  Sacrificial  Character  of  Holy  Communion,  127 

piation.  Man  can  never  expiate  ;  but  it  does  not  follow 
that,  when  forgiven  and  accepted,  he  cannot  offer  an 
acceptable  homage. 

But  one  moment  remains  to  give  a  practical  turn  to 
these  reflections,  by  calling  attention  to  that  verse,  with 
which  the  Apostle  concludes  his  warning  against  par- 
ticipation of  idol-sacrifices  :  "  Do  we  provoke  the  Lord 
to  jealousy?  "    The  literal  idol-sacrifice  has  ceased.    Yet 
are  there  innumerable  idols,  even  in  the  nominally  Chris- 
tian world,  with  ti'ains  of  worshippers  who  hold  commun- 
ion with  them,   if  not  sacramentally,  yet  in  heart   and 
spirit.     There  is  Mammon  with  his  troop  of  idolaters, — 
all  those  who,  whether  miserly  or  not,  secretly  regard 
the  comforts  and  resources  of  this  world  as  the  one  great 
object  of  human  existence.     There  is  Ashtaroth,  Aviih 
her  impure  and  licentious  orgies,  drawing  votaries  to  her 
altars  with  the  lure  of  sensuJtlity.     There  is  Moloch,  to 
whom  human  victims  are  still  offered,  when  children  of 
tender  age  and  young  women  are   ground  down  by  the 
oppressiveness  of  a  cruel  social  system,  and  the  employer 
will  give  no  other  terms  than  long  hours  and  low  wages. 
The  sun  shining  in  his   strength,  the  moon  walking  in 
brightness,   and  other  objects   of  natural  beauty,  have 
still  the  power  to  entice  the  heart  and  attract  the  salutes 
of  many ;  for  there  is  a  Pantheistic  talk  making  itself 
heard  among  us,  in  circles  calling  themselves  philosoph- 
ical and  refined,  to  the  effect  that  all  things  have  some 
particle  of  Divinity,  and  rightfully  challenge  some  spe- 
cies of  worship.     There  is  Reason,  and  her  throng  of 
worshippers,  all  following  after  the  ignis  fatuus  of  intel- 
lectual power,  in  whatever  form  it  may  display  itself, 
and  forsaking  the  old  beaten  paths  of  homely  Scriptural 
Truth.     These  are  all  idols,  with   devils  behind  them, 


128  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  [paet 

maintaining;  and  abetting  their  worship.  Present  not 
yourself  to  hold  communion  with  Christ,  while  you  com- 
municate with  these  ;  while  you  are  drawn  by  their  fas- 
cinations, and  do  homage  at  their  shrine.  Do  you  pro- 
voke the  Lord  to  jealousy?  Know  that  He  will  not 
share  thy  heart  with  any  idol  god  ;  and  as  often  as  you 
approach  the  Christian  Altar,  reflect  that  the  condition 
of  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Table  to  the  soul's  health  is, 
that  communion  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil 
be  first  sincerely  renounce dr 


LECTURE    VI. 

OF   THE   INTERCESSION   IN    THE    PRATER  FOR  THE  CHURCH 

MILITANT. 

"K  nljort  tj)crcforr,  tljETt,  first  of  all,  supplications,  ij^xnvtxs, 
intn'ccssions,  anD  ^M\x^  of  tljnnfts,  l)c  nic-itie  for  all  men ; 

♦•  JFor  tttufls,  nntr  fov  nil  tj)?it  are  in  autDoriti) ;  tl)at  toe  ma^  leali 
a  quiet  anlr  peacealile  life  in  all  flo^iliness  anU  1)oncst»." 

1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2. 

In  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant  there  are  three 
great  features,  the  Oblation,  the  Intercessions,  and  the 
Commemoration  of  the  Dead.  Of  the  first  of  these  we 
have  spoken  sufficiently.  The  Intercessions  next  claim 
our  attention. 

They  are  directed  to  five  objects  :  the  general  well- 
beinoj  of  the  .Church  ;  a  risrhteous  executive  in  Christian 
States ;  an  effective  ministration  of  God's  Word  and 
Sacraments ;  a  right  reception  of  that  Word  by  the 
people  ;  and,  finally,  the  consolation  and  support  of  the 


II.]  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant.  129 

afflicted.  Thus  the  precept  of  the  Apostle  Paul  seems  to 
*be  very  narrowly  followed.  We  intercede  first  '•  for  all 
men"  (for  all,  at  least,  within  the  pale  of  the  Church)  ; 
then  for  "  Christian  rulers"  (under  whatever  name  they 
maybe  know^n),  "and  for  all  that  are  in  authority" 
(spiritual  as  well  as  temporal)  ;  and  then  for  the  people, 
that  they  may  be  virtuous  and  God-fearing,  made  so  by 
the  instrumentality,  partly  of  a  righteous  Executive, 
partly  of  an  efficient  ministry  ("that  wre  may  lead  a 
quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty)." 
"We  cannot  frame  an  Intercessory  Prayer  much  more 
closely  upon  inspired  instructions. 

1.  Our  first  subject  of  Intercession  is  the  general  wel- 
fare of  the  Church.  Alas !  how  urgent  a  need  of  our 
Prayers  has  the  Universal  Church  !  How  miserably  far 
is  she  from  realising  the  spiritual  condition  which  her 
Divine  Founder  designed  for  her,  and  prayed  that  she 
might  be  led  into  and  kept  in  !  If  you  will  read  with  at- 
tention His  great  High-Priestly  Prayer  recorded  in  S. 
John  xvii.,  you  will  see  that  there  are  two  great  features 
of  this  spiritual  condition.  Truth  a  nd  perfect  Unity. 
"  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  Truth,"  says  He,  "  Thy 
Word  is  Truth."  And  again :  "  Holy  Father,  keep 
through  "  (literally,  in)  "  Thine  own  Name  those  whom 
Thou  hast  given  Me "  (keep  them,  that  is,  in  the  true 
acknowledgment  of  Thy  Name),  "  that  they  maybe  one, 
as  we  are."  And  again :  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these 
alone,  but  for  them  also  who  shall  believe  on  Me  through 
their  word  ;  that  they  all  may  be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father, 
art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in 
us  :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hastsent  Me." 
But  how  awfully  difierent  is  the  actual  state  of  Christen- 
dom from  that  which  Christ  contemplated  for  His  Disci- 
6* 


130  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  [part 

pies  !     Beyond  the  most  vital  articles  of  the  Faith,  there 
is  scarcely  a  single  point  on  which  the  different  commun-* 
ions  are  agreed.     In  the  same   Christendom  there  are 
the    Reformed    and   Unreformed    Churches,    the    latter 
anathematizing  the  former,  the    former  too   oftea  con- 
founding license  with  liberty,  and  breaking  loose  from 
the  ancient  moorings  of  Apostolic  Discipline  and  really 
primitive  Tradition.     Then  there  are  Churches,  properly 
so  called,  with  the  regular  succession  of  the  Ministry, 
and  devout  Sects  without  member,  who  have  really  formed 
themselves  anew  in  modern  times,   and  make  it  then* 
boast  that  they  have  shaken  themselves  loose  from  all 
the  associations  of  the  Mediseval  Church.     jSTor  can  we 
flatter  ourselves  that  to  any  great  extent  the  distinction 
is  merely  nominal, — a  distinction  without   a  difference. 
Long  separation,  and  the  cherishing  with  undue  fondness 
one  or  two  isolated  doctrines,  has  produced   a  different 
cast  of  thought  among  Christians  of  different  Commun- 
ions.      The  English  Episcopalian   and   the   Greek,  the 
American  Episcopalian  and  the  Nestorian,  look  at  re- 
ligious Truth    from    a   totally  different  point  of  view. 
Nay,  even  in  the  bosom  of  the  same  Church,  so  far  from 
the   members  being  "  perfectly  joined  together  in   the 
same  "  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment,"  there  are  often 
found  rival  Schools  of  Theology,  with  party  names  and 
party  badges,  separated  from,  one  another,  not  unfrequent- 
ly,  by  antipathies  stronger  than  either  of  them  entertain 
to  persons  of  a  professedly  different  Denomination.     It 
is  easy  to  acquiesce  in  such  a  state  of  things,  and  even  to 
make  an  apology  for  it,  under  the  conviction  that  it  must 
be  so,  while  the  various  Communions  adhere  faithfully  to 
what  they  conceive  to  be  God's  Truth.     But  the  answer 
is,  that  not  merely  acknowledgment  of  the  Truth,  but   - 


II.]  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant.  131 

union  in  acknoTvledgment  of  the  Truth,  is  the  healthy 
condition  of  the  Church.  Christians  must  not  only  con- 
fess the  Truth  ;  they  must  agree  in  confessing  it.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  easy  to  bring  about  union 
by  the  compromise  of  some  Scriptural  doctrine,  a  por- 
tion, it  may  be,  of  the  Faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 
But  the  objection  to  this  would  be,  that  Christians  are 
bound  not  only  to  speak  in  Love,  but  to  speak  the  Truth 
in  Love.  The  uuion  of  Truth  with  Love,  in  the  Church 
of  Christ,  is  the  Church's  high  ideal  state,  and  the  ideal 
which,  under  present  circumstances,  it  is  so  peculiarly 
hard  to  realise.  Mutual  acquaintance  between  members 
of  rival  Commimions  will  do  something  to  soften  animos- 
ities. The  cultivation  by  all  Christians  of  a  Catholic 
Spii'it,  which  acknowledges  and  gladly  hails  personal 
goodness  and  devotion,  wherever  it  is  found,  will  do 
more.  A  clear  understanding  that  the  essential  Articles 
of  Faith  are  few,  broad,  and  simple,  and  that  subtleties 
and  nice  controversial  questions  are  not  among  them — 
such  an  understanding  gaining  ground  among  the  thought- 
ful and  educated,  will  contribute  much  to  the  great  re- 
sult. But,  after  all,  "  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor 
of  him  that  runneth."  We  shall  make  no  way  in  remov- 
ing this  gigantic  difficulty,  unless  we  apply  to  it  the  le\er 
of  Prayer.  It  is  God  who  fashioneth  the  hearts  of  all 
men,  and  understandeth  all  their  thoughts ;  and  it  is  to 
Him  we  must  make  our  appeal,  if  we  would  have  their 
thoughts  directed  into  Truth,  and  their  hearts  into  Love. 
And  accordingly,  when  about  to  partake  of  the  Feast  of 
Love, — the  Feast  in  which  the  "  one  Bread,"  distributed 
among  many  "  partakers,"  symbolises  the  Unity  of 
Christ's  mystical  Body,  the  Church, — "  We  beseech  His 
Divine   Majesty   to   inspire   continually   the   Universal 


132  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  [paet 

Cliurcli  with  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  Unity,  and  Concord  " 
(Uuitj  and  Concord  through  Truth,  as  we  praj  on  an- 
other occasion,  "  G-rant  us  so  to  be  joined  together  in 
unity  of  spirit  hy  their  doctrine  "),  and  to  "•  grant  that  all 
those  who  do  confess  His  Holy  Name  may  "  (not  naerely 
agree,  but)  "  agree  in  the  Truth  of  His  Holy  Word,  and 
live  in  unity  and  godly  Love."  How  faithfully  does  the 
Church,  praying  in  such  language  for  herself,  echo  her 
Divine  Master  s  Prayer  for  her :  "  Holy  Father,  keep 
in"  [the  confession  of]  "  Thine  own  Name  those  whom 
Thou  hast  given  Me,  that  they  may  be  one,  as  We  are." 
Nor  let  it  be  supposed  that  mankind  at  large  are  ex- 
cluded Ijfom  the  benefit  of*  the  Church's  Intercession, 
when  she  holds  her  Communion  Festival.  In  supplicat- 
ing the  agreement  of  all  who  confess  God's  Name  iu  the 
truth  of  His  Holy  Word,  she  asks  for  that  v/hich  is  the 
ordained  instrument  of  converting  the  world  to  the  Faith. 
When,  at  length,  all  Christians  agree  in  the  Truth,  the 
e\'idence  of  Christianity  will  become  irresistible.  Too 
long  have  the  heathen  found  an  argument  for  unbelief  in 
the  allegation  that  Protestant  missionaries  have  taught  a 
different  Religion  from  the  Romanists,  and  that  Christian 
sectaries  invite  them  to  a  different  form  of  Faith  and 
Worship  from  that  inculcated  by  Christian  Churches. 
But  ia  that  day,  whose  coming  we  anticipate  in  Faith 
and  Hope,  when  the  Lord  shall  build  up  the  spiritual 
Zion  in  Truth  and  Love,  and  the  spectacle  shall  be  pre- 
sented to  the  world  of  '•'  Jerusalem  built  as  a  city  that  is 
at  unity  in  itself,"  the  prayer  of  the  great  High  Priest 
shall  be  fully  and  finally  answered  :  "  Neither  pray  I  for 
these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  Me 
through  their  word  ;  that  they  all  may  be  one  ;  as  Thou, 
Father,  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be 


n.]  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant.  133 

one  in  us :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  Me."  Thus  the  agreement  of  the  Church  in  the 
Truth  being  made,  in  the  order  of  Divine  Providence,  the 
indispensable  condition  of  the  world's  conversion,  he  who 
prays  for  the  first  explicitly,  prays  also  implicitly  for  the 
second. 

2.  The  second  subject  of  Intercession  in  this  Prayer 
is  a  righteous  and  effective  administration  off  Justice  by 
Christian  Rulers.  The  order  of  Intercession  indicated  in 
the  text,  "For  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority," 
points  out  the  Heads  of  the  Body  Politic,  to  whom  all 
orders  and  degrees  of  men,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil, 
must  be  subject  for  conscience*  sake,  as  the  first  objects 
of  specific  intercession.  This  priority  is  due  partly  to 
the  origin  of  Civil  Government,  "the  powers  that  be" 
(and  therefore  especially  the  Supreme  Power  in  any 
State)  being  "  ordained  of  God  ;  "  and  partly  to  its  im- 
'portance^  the  welfare  of  the  Commonwealth  depending 
very  mainly  on  the  decisions  and  acts  of  its  Rulers.  And 
when  the  character  of  the  authorities  of  that  day  is  con- 
sidered, the  precept  seems  to  come  to  us,  who  live  under 
Christian  autliorities,  in  a  doubly  imperative  and  obliga- 
tory form.  The  master  of  the  Roman  world,  at  the  time 
St.  Paul  wrote  these  words,  was  one  whose  name  has 
passed  into  a  proverb  of  tyranny  and  wickedness — the 
odious  Nero.  If  the  first  Epistle  to  Timothy  is  rightly 
assigned  to  the  year  65,  it  was  in  the  previous  year  that 
the  great  conflagration  had  taken  place,  which  laid  in 
ashes  three  of  the  four  quarters  of  Rome,  and  which  the 
tyrannical  Emperor  (himself  suspected  of  the  crime)  had 
made  a  pretext  for  the  cruel  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians. It  was  with  such  specimens  of  authority  as  these 
before  his  eyes  that  St.  Paul,  directing  a  Christian  Bishop 


134:  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  [paet 

as  to  the  celebration  of  Public  Worship  in  the  Church, 
enjoins  in  the  first  place,  or  as  a  matter  of  primary  im- 
portance, that  prayer  in   all  its  forms, — special  entreaty, 
solemn  address,  urgent  solicitation,  thanksgiving  for  suc- 
cesses,— should,   be  made  in   behalf  of  all  that  are  in 
authority.     The  object  of  these  prayers  was  obvious — 
more   obvious,  perhaps,  though  not   (we  believe)  more 
real,  than  is  the   object  of  such   prayers   now-a-days. 
Christians  were  then  a  harassed  and  a  persecuted  sect. 
The  temporal  authority  in  those  days  set  its  face  against 
them,  to  root  them  out  of  the  earth.     It  was  a  great 
point  for  them  to  have  princes  favourably  disposed  to 
them,  who  would  allow  them  the  exercise  of  their  religion 
without  molestation.     Now  the  Lord  could  make   any 
prince  thus  favourably  disposed  towards  them  ;  for  (as  an 
inspired  king  informs  us)  "  the  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  rivers  of  waters  ;  He  turneth  it  whither- 
soever He  will."     And  if  it  were  turned  in  favour  of  the 
Christians,  as  it  might  be  by  their  prayers,  then  they 
would  "  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness 
and  honesty,"  or  to  express  the  same  thought  in  the  terse 
language  of  one  of  our  collects,  God's  Church  would 
joyfully  serve  Him  in  all  godly  quietness.     There  was 
every  ground,  then,  for  praying  for  the  powers  that  be, 
that  the  blessings  conferred  upon  them  might  redound  to 
the  Christians  in  outward  peace  and  inward  tranquillity. 
Like  most  of  the  ecclesiastical  arrangements  of  Chris- 
tianity, this  practice  of  offering  public  prayer  for  those 
in  authority  had  its  origin  in  the  customs  of  the  syna- 
gogue and  the  Temple.     In  the  Book  of  Ezra  we  find  a 
decree  of  Darius  for  the  assistance  of  the  Jews  in  re- 
building their  Temple,  which  makes  it  obligatory  upon 
his  subjects  in  Palestine  to  furnish  them,  "  according  to 


n.]  Prayer  for  the  Chtirch  Militant.  135 

the  appointment  of  the  priests  which  are  at  Jerusalem," 
•with  victims,  wheat,  salt,  wine,  and  oil,  "  that  they  may- 
offer  sacrifices  of  sweet  savours  unto  the  God  of  Heaven, 
and  pray  for  the  life  of  the  king,  and  of  his  sons."  This 
the  Jews  appear  to  have  done  most  conscientiously  ever 
after  the  Captivity ;  and  when  they  passed  under  the 
Roman  yoke,  the  sacrifices  and  prayers  were  transferred 
to  the  account  of  their  new  governors.  We  find  from 
Josephus  that  "  they  offered  sacrifices  twice  every  day 
for  Ciesar  and  for  the  Roman  people."  And  it  is  indeed 
a  most  observable  fact,  illustrative  of  the  quietness  and 
peace  which  may  be  expected  from  prayers  for  rulers, 
that  this  same  historian  Josephus  traces  up  the  beginning 
of  the  last  war  with  the  Romans  to  the  omission,  by  ill 
counsel,  of  the  usual  sacrifice  for  Caesar.  The  passage 
is  of  sufficient  interest  to  be  quoted  :  "  At  the  same  time 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Ananias  the  high  priest,  a  very  bold 
youth,  who  was  at  that  time  governor  of  the  Temple, 
persuaded  those  that  officiated  in  the  divine  service  to 
receive  no  gift  or  sacrifice  for  any  foreigner.  And  this 
was  the  true  beginning  of  our  war  with  the  Romans  ;  for 
they  rejected  the  sacrifice  of  Caesar  on  this  account ;  and 
when  many  of  the  chief  priests  and  principal  men  be- 
sought them  not  to  omit  the  sacrifice,  which  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  them  to  offer  for  their  princes,  they  would 
not  be  prevailed  upon."  Hereupon,  the  historian  goes 
on  to  say,  a  council  was  held  by  the  chief  priests  and 
principal  Pharisees,  who  besought  the  innovators  to  con- 
sider that  it  had  been  an  immemorial  custom  to  receive 
gifts  for  the  Temple  and  sacrifices  from  foreigners,  and 
that  the  rejection  of  sacrifices,  when  tendered  by  the 
emperor,  would  not  only  irritate  the  Romans,  and  bring 
on  a  war  with  them,  but  also  "  would  introduce  a  novel 


136  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  [paet 

rule  of  Divine  Worship."  However,  the  bigots  would 
not  hearken,  and  the  Avar  which  originated  in  their  ab- 
juring prayers  and  sacrifices  for  C^sar,  ended  in  the 
demolition  of  their  Temple  bj  Caesar,  and  the  abolition 
of  sacrifice  altogether. 

We  have  seen  that  prayers  even  for  heathen  Sover- 
eigns were  practised  by  the  Jewish  Church ;  that  the 
discontinuance  of  them — which  was  a  breach  of  long 
custom — ^liad  a  most  disastrous  result ;  and  that  the 
Christian  Apostle  St.  Paul  makes  the  same  practice  bind- 
ing upon  Christian  assemblies  by  a  precept  to  which  he 
attaches  first-rate  importance.  Now  see  how  closely  our 
Prayer  Book  is  formed  on  the  Scriptural  model. 

We  are  en2;a2:ed  in  oiferinsr  the  Christian  Sacrifice, — 
in  performing  the  great  Rite,  which  under  the  Gospel 
corresponds  to  the  Sacrifices  under  the  Law,  and  in  the 
course  of  which  are  made  oblations  of  alms,  of  prayer, 
and  praise,  of  our  souls  and  bodies.  And  with  these 
sacrifices  of  sweet  savour,  we  mingle  prayers,  as  the 
Jews  did  of  old,  "  for  the  kiag  and  for  his  sons," — nay, 
and  for  the  whole  Church  which  Christ  redeemed  with 
His  most  precious  Blood.  Independently  of  the  Apostolic 
precept,  and  of  the  practice  of  the  Church  of  God  in  all 
time,  is  not  this  arrangement  intrinsically  suitable  to  the 
occasion  ?  We  are  about  to  celebrate  the  Feast  of  Love, 
and  we  inaugurate  it  by  a  prayer  of  love  for  all  men, — 
by  an  expression  of  sympathy  with  those  who  are  sad- 
dled with  a  heavy  responsibility, — with  those  who  have 
charge  of  others, — with  all  who  in  this  transitory  life  are 
in  trouble,  sorrow,  need,  sickness,  or  any  other  adversi- 
ty,— ^yea,  an  expression  of  sympathy  with,  and  thankful- 
ness for,  those  who  have  departed  this  life  in  God's  faith 
and  fear. 


n.]  Prayer  for  the  Gkiirch  Militant.  137 

If  our  hearts  be  in  such  a  state  that  they  cannot  yield 
sympathy  to  our  brethren,  and  so  canno-t  sincerely  offer 
prayer  for  those  of  them  who  still  live,  or  thanksgiving 
for  the  departed,  can  they  be  in  a  state  fit  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  holy  Festival? 

3.  After  Intercessions  for  Rulers,  on  whom  is  de- 
volved the  government  of  all  orders  and  degrees  of  men, 
follows  Intercession  for  the  Clergy,  whether  Bishops  or 
Inferior  Ministers,  who  act  as  delegates  of  the  Bishop  in 
certain  lower  parts  of  his  functions.  The  petition  is 
very  terse,  but  very  comprehensive.  There  are  two  great 
functions  attaching  to  the'  Christian  Ministry,  the  setting 
fol'th  of  God's  Word,  and  the  administration  of  His 
Sacraments,  and  any  view  of  it  is  incomplete,  which 
does  not  embrace  both  these  aspects  of  it.  The  Minister 
of  Christ  is  not  exclusively  a  religious  teacher,  uor  ex- 
clusively a  performer  of  sacred  functions  ;  the  mysteries 
of  God,  of  wdiich  he  is  the  steward,  are  not  only  the 
opened  mysteries  of  Divine  Truth,  but  the  consecrated 
symbols  also,  under  which  Divine  Grace  is  ifi  a  mystery 
conveyed ;  the  portion  of  meat  which  he  dispenses  to 
the  Household  is  not  only  the  Bread  of  God's  Word, 
but  the  Bread  of  the  Eucharist.  And  there  are  two 
modes  of  recommending  his  ministry  and  making  it  efh- 
cient.  Some  INIinisters,  it  has  been  said,  preach  forcibly 
by  their  example,  weakly  by  their  doctrine ;  others 
forcibly  by  their  doctrine,  weakly  by  their  example  ;  few 
with  equal  force  by  both.  We  pray,  therefore,  that  a 
holy  example  in  our  Ministers  may  win  the  way  for  th'e 
entrance  of  theij  doctrine  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  ; 
that  "  both  by  their  life  and  doctrine  "  (by  their  life  in 
the  first  instance,  by  their  doctrine  next,   according  to 


138  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  [paet 

those  noble  lines  of  Chaucer,  in  which  the  "  poure  per- 
sone  of  a  toun"  is  thus  described : 

"  This  noble  ensample  to  his  shepe  he  yaf, 
That  first  he  wrought  and  afterward  he  taught"), 

"  they  may  set  forth  Thy  true  and  lively  Word,  and  right- 
ly and  duly  administer  Thy  Holy  Sacranoents."  The 
word  "  duly"  is  not  pleonastic.  The  Litorgy  is  framed 
on  the  model  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  rarely  (if  ever) 
has  superfluous  words.  A  due  administration  of  the 
Sacraments  is  such  a  performance  of  the  sacred  function 
as  omits  nothing  essential,  the  performance  of  them  in 
every  particular  according  to  a  Scriptural,  primitive,  and 
Catholic  Ritual.  The  "  right "  administration  of  them 
refers  rather  to  the  heart  of  the  Minister,  which  should 
be  penetrated,  while  he  executes  his  great  functions,  with 
humility,  reverence,  and  devotion.  Hezekiah  prayed  for 
those  communicants  who  had  not  undergone  the  usual 
legal  purification  before  eating  of  his  passover.  "  The 
good  Lord,  pardon  every  one  that  prepareth  his  heart  to 
seek  God,  the  Lord  God  of  his  fathers,  though  he  be 
not  cleansed  according  to  the  purification  of  the  Sanctu- 
ary." Before  eating  our  Passover,  we  pray  that  those 
who  celebrate  it  may  do  so  "  duly,"  with  every  ritual 
circumstance  enjoined  by  Christ,  and  sanctioned  by  His 
Church  in  the  earliest  and  purest  age,  and,  above  all 
things  (as  the  inward  is  of  far  greater  importance  than 
the  outward),  with  "  a  heart  prepared  to  seek  the  Lord." 
4.  Then  follows  the  Intercession  for  Christian  Peo- 
ple, that  they  may  rightly  receive  the  Ministry  of  God's 
Word,  and  duly  profit  thereby.  The  right  reception  of 
it  is  "  with  meek  heart  and  due  reverence — the  reverence 
that  is,  which  is  due  to  it,"  and  which  the  Thessalonians 


n.]  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant,  139 

accorded,  who,  *'  when  they  received  the  Word  of  God, 
which  they  heard  of"  (St.  Paul),  "  received  it  not  as  the 
word  of  men,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  Word  of  God, 
which  efFectaally  worketh  also  in  them  that  believe." 
But  how  utterly  different  is  this  meekness  and  reverence 
from  the  captious  and  criticising  spirit  with  wliich  God's 
Word  is  too  often  listened  to  among  us,  the  spirit  which 
seeks  to  be  interested  or  amused  rather  than  edified  by 
the  Sermon,  which  looks  to  the  preacher  for  something 
which  may  rather  stir  thought  out  of  its  usual  dulness, 
than  the  will  out  of  its  usual  lethargy.  It  may  be  a 
question  whether  the  torpid  acquiescence  y\dth  which 
some  sit  beneath  a  dull  preacher,  or  the  curious  and 
critical  spirit  in  which  others  listen  to  a  lively  one,  is 
more  remote  from  the  frame  of  mind  in  which  alone 
any  benefit  can  be  derived  from  Sermons.  Both  are 
probably  at  an  equal  distance  from  "  the  honest  and 
good  heart "  of  those  who  hear  the  Word,  and  "  keep  it, 
and  bring  forth  fruit  with  patience."  Fruit  I  Yes,  fruit 
is  the  great  criterion  of  a  wholesome  reception  of  God's 
Word.  Why  is  seed  sown,  but  that  harvest  may  be  in- 
gathered  ?  Why  is  God's  Word  thrown  forth  upon  the 
soil  of  the  heart,  but  that  the  soil  in  due  season  may 
yield  all  the  fruits  of  the  spirit, — that  the  man  may 
"  truly  serve  God  in  holiness  and  righteousness  all  the 
days  of  his  life  "  ?  God's  Word  is  not  a  mere  piece  of 
literature,  which  has  done  its  whole  work  upon  the  mind 
when  it  has  been  perused  (or  the  recital  of  it  listened 
to)  with  taste  for  its  beauties  and  an  admiring  appre- 
ciation of  its  excellences.  Its  great  object  is  to  quicken 
and  guide  the  conscience,  to  move  the  affections,  to  set 
in  action  the  will ;  in  short,  to  touch  the  springs  of  char- 
acter and  conduct ;  and  unless  these  springs  be  touched 


140  Of  the  Intercession  in  the  Ppaet 

in  the  hearers  of  it,  the  ministry  of  it,  whatever  sensa- 
tions it  may  have  created,  has  produced  no  solid  or  sub- 
stantial results. 

5.  But  excellent  and  exhaustive  as  the  Intercessions 
of  our  Liturgy  are,  it  is  sometimes  felt  that  they  do  not 
attract  our  sympathy  or  interest  us  in  the  same  degree 
with  other  prayers.  It  may  be  ricjht  to  intercede  for  our 
Rulers  in  Church  and  State,  and  to  seek  God's  Blessing 
upon  the  Universal  Church  throughout  the  world ;  but, 
alas  !  the  narrowness  of  our  views  and  sympathies  too 
often  invest  such  Intercession  with  a  chilly  ceremonious- 
ness,  and  deprives  it  of  all  warmth  and  unction.  If, 
then,  we  desire  a  softening  element  in  prayers  of  this 
description  ;  if  we  desire  to  be  brought  out  of  the  atmos- 
phere of  what  may  be  called  official  life,  into  that  of  our 
common  humanity, — nowhere  is  this  done  for  us  with 
such  simple  and  touching  pathos  as  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant.  For  there  the  dif- 
ferent forms  of  human  sorrow, — that  sorrow  which 
makes  all  mankind  of  one  kin,  and  puts  the  Sovereign 
on  a  level  with  the  serf, — are  brought  before  the  mind  ; 
and  we  implore  the  Great  Healer  "  of  His  goodness  to 
comfort  and  succour  all  them,  who  in  this  transitory  life 
are  in  trouble,  sorrow,  need,  sickness,  or  any  other  ad- 
versity." Here  is  calamity,  here  is  mourning,  here  is 
poverty,  here  is  broken  health,  and  if  there  be  any  other 
form  of  human  woe,  all  presented  to  the  eye  of  the  Divine 
Compassion  in  five  simple  words  of  intense  supplication. 
To  Him  who  lives  environed  by  the  glories  of  Heaven, 
and  the  Hallelujahs  of  Seraphim,  what  a  lazar-house  of 
miseries  must  the  Earth  be  !  How  like  a  pool  of  Be- 
thesda,  with  its  great  multitude  of  impotent  folk,  of 
blind,  halt,  and  withered, — with  its  restless  pining  and 


n.]  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant.  141 

moaning,  and  its  cruelly  disappointed  hopes  !  Can  we 
think  of*  this  multitude  of  sorrows  without  sympathy, 
without  at  least  a  fervent  desire  to  recommend  it  to  God  ? 
And  if  Ave  can  think  of  it  so,  are  we  prepared  to  partake 
of  the  Feast  of  Love  ?  Have  we  in  that  case  any  thing 
of  His  mind,  who,  upon  the  sight  of  the  deaf  and  dumb, 
sighed,  as  He  looked  up  to  Heaven ;  who  wept,  as  He 
stood  between  sorrowing  sisters  at  Lazarus'  grave  ?  And 
if  we  have  nothing  of  His  mind,  shall  we  present  our- 
selves to  hold  Communion  with  Him  at  His  Table  ? 

But  there  is  a  yet  more  touching  suggestion  in  this 
prayer,  which  can  hardly  fail  to  reach  the  heart.  There 
are  those  Christians  (and  some  of  them  possibly  among 
our  own  nearest  and  dearest)  whose  troubles,  sorrows, 
and  labours  have  reached  their  climax,  and  who  have 
now  passed  beyond  our  sight  into  that  realm  beyond  the 
grave,  "where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  the 
weary  are  at  rest."  If  to  follow  them  with  prayer  were 
presumptuous,  as  being  beyond  the  warrant  of  God's 
Word,  we  may  at  least  follow  them  with  thanksgiving. 
The  angels  strike  their  golden  harps  as  fresh  souls  are 
won  to  God  in  this  world.  Shall  we  not  suppose  that 
tliey  strike  them  when  those  souls  are  taken  home  to 
Him, — released  from  the  body  of  Sin  and  Death?  And 
may  we  not  join  our  poor  voices  w^ith  that  angelic  sym- 
phony? And  may  we  not  also  implore  grace  for  our- 
selves to  follow  their  faith,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation,  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  for  ever  ?  Yes,  surely  !  it  is  an  unloving  spirit,  and 
one  totally  uncongenial  with  the  mind  of  Christ  and  His 
Church,  which  would  cut  us  off  from  this  solemn  com- 
memoration before  God  of  those  who  have  departed  this 
life  in  His  faith  and  fear.     This  is  the  one  exercise  .of 


14:2    Of  the  Intercession  in  the  Prayer^  dac,    [paet 

Devotion  by  wliicli  the  communioTi  of  living  Christians 
with  departed  saints, — their  fellowship  with  us  of  inter- 
ests, of  hopes,  of  thankfulness,  of  adoration, — is  recog- 
nized. As  such  we  believe  the  Liturgy  would  be  im- 
perfect and  mutilated  without  it.  We  believe  that  without 
this  clause^  in  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant,  the 
heart  would  crave  something  which  it  would  not  find  in 
the  highest  Office  of  the  Church.  For  those  who  have 
lost  Christian  friends,  who  once  walked  side  by  side  with 
them  in  this  troublesome  world,  cannot  banish  the  thought 
of  such  friends  in  their  approaches  to  God.  The  de- 
parted ones  seem  to  stand  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 

^  In  the  first  Protestant  Prayer  Book  (1549)  the  sentence  bidding 
this  Prayer  ran  merely,  "  Let  us  pray  for  the  whole  state  of  Christ's 
Church."  And  a, prayer  for  the  departed  was  inserted  to  this  effect : 
— "  We  commend  unto  Thy  mercy,  0  Lord,  all  other  Thy  servants, 
which  are  departed  hence  from  us  with  the  sign  of  faith,  and  now  do 
rest  in  the  sleep  of  peace ;  Grant  unto  them,  we  beseech  Thee,  Thy 
mercy  and  everlasting  peace,  and  that,  at  the  day  of  the  general  Res- 
urrection we  and  all  they  which  be  of  the  mystical  body  of  Thy  Son 
may  all  together  be  set  on  His  right  hand,  and  hear  that  His  most 
joyful  voice :  Come  unto  me,  0  ye  that  be  blessed  of  my  Father,  and 
possess  the  Kingdom,"  &c. 

In  the  Prayer  Book  of  1552  all  mention  of  the  dead  was  omitted, 
and  to  the  heading  of  it  were  added  the  words,  "militant  here  in 
earth," 

This  alteration  was  made  in  compliance  with  Bucer's  strictures, 
one  of  which  seems  somewhat  fantastic : — "  I  should  be  unwilling  in 
that  word — sleep  of  peace — to  give  occasion  of  gratifying  those  who 
affirm  that  the  departed  in  the  Lord  sleep  (even  as  to  their  souls) 
unto  the  last  day." 

In  1661,  after  the  Savoy  Conference,  when  the  doctrine  of  Pur- 
gatory had  been  extirpated,  the  present  clause  giving  tha7iks  for  all 
those  who  have  departed  this  life  in  God's  faith  and  fear,  and  praying 
for  grace  to  follow  their  example,  was  inserted,  and  is  surely  a  most 
valuable  feature  of  the  Prayer. 


n.]     Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead,  (&g.    143 

of  Death,  and  beckon  us  to  cross,  as  they  have  crossed, 
under  the  sheltering  wing  of  the  Redeemer.  And  most 
precious  is  the  thought  that,  as  they  are  with  Him, 
wrapt  in  a  communion  closer  than  any  which  can  be  en- 
joyed on  Earth,  whenever  we  truly  seek  Him,  W'C  draw 
nigh  (though  unconsciously  and  invisibly)  to  their  spirits. 
For  the  nearer  the  rays  of  a  circle  approach  to  their 
common  centre,  so  much  the  nearer  of  necessity  they 
draw  to  one  another.  Christ  is  the  one  meeting-point  of 
the  faith  of  the  living,  and  of  the  sight  of  the  dead  ;  and 
thus  in  Him  our  faitli  hath  communion  with  their  si<2:ht. 
"  For  we  are  come  "  (not  are  to  come,  but  are  come)' 
"  unto  Mount  Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God, 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company 
of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the 
firstborn,  which  are  Written  in  heaven,  and  to  God,  the 
Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  per- 
fect." 


LECTURE    VII. 

OF   THE    COMMEMORATION    OF   THE    DEAD    IN   THE   OFFICE 
OF   THE   HOLY    COMMUNION. 

**  33ut  sc  are  come  .  .  .  .  to  tt)e  spirits  of  just  men  maDe  pei-tect.** 

Heb.  xii.  22,  23. 

In  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant  there  are  three 
great  features,  the  Oblation,  the  Intercessions,  and  the 
Comn^emoration  of  the  Dead.  Of  the  first  two  of  these 
we  have  spoken  sufficiently.    The  last  is  a  feature  which 


144       Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead      [paet 

requires  further  development  than  the  passing  notice 
which  we  took  of  it  in  the  foregoing  Lecture. 

The  conckiding  clause  of  the  Prayer,  to  which  we 
refer,  "  And  we  also  bless  Thy  Holy  Name  for  all  Thy 
servants  departed  this  life  in  Thy  faith  and  fear :  be- 
seeching Thee  to  give  us  grace  so  to  follow  their  good 
examples,  that  with  them  we  may  be  partakers  of  Thy 
heavenly  kingdom,"  was  added  at  the  last  Review  of  the 
Office,  all  mention  of  the  dead  having  been  in  abeyance 
from  the  time  of  the  Second  Book  of  Edward  VI.,  from 
which  intercession-  for  the  spirits  of  the  departed  right- 
eous (such  as  had  found  place  in  the  First  Book)  was 
carefully  expunged,  until  the  year  1662,  when  the  Eng- 
lish Liturgy  received  its  finishing  touches.  It  shall  first 
be  pointed  out  how  the  addition  is  justified  by  Holy 
Scripture.  • 

In  the  context  of  the  passage,  which  stands  at  the 
head  of  this  Lecture,  the  Apostle  is  warning  Christians 
to  beware  lest  they  despise  their  privileges,  and  by  apos- 
tatizing for  the  sake  of  worldly  comfort  or  advantage, 
recklessly  throw  them  away.  This  would  be  to  imitate 
the  conduct  and  fate  of  profane  Esau,  who  for  one  mor- 
sel of  meat  sold  his  birthright.  For,  says  he  (this  seems 
to  be  the  connexion  of  thought),  your  privileges  as 
Christians  are  high  and  great, — far  greater  than  those  of 
the  Church  under  the  Law.  And  then  he  proceeds  to 
enumerate  them.  They  (the  Hebrew  Christians)  had 
not  come  to  a  literal  mountain,  which  might  be  touched  ; 
but  to  a  spiritual  eminence,  in  whose  high  and  celestial 
atmosphere  they  had  communion  with  God,  with  Christ, 
with  angels,  with  the  entire  Church  of  God,  whether  noAV 
in  warfare,  or  at  rest,  and  specifically  with  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect.    Such  is  the  general  scope  of  the 


n.]        in  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion.      145 

argument.  We  will  now  fasten  our  attention  on  this 
particular  part  of  it,  which  makes  for  our  present  pur- 
pose, 

"  Ye  are  come  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect." 

Observe  first  the  difference  of  this  representation  of 
Christian  privileges  from  those  which  are  commonly  cur- 
rent. Our  usual  religious  parlance  places  our  privileges 
in  the  future.  Holy  Scripture  places  them  in  the  present. 
It  is  the  popular  phraseology  to  say,  '•'  Good  Christians 
shall  come  to  Heaven  hereafter."  Scripture  rather  says, 
"  Good  Christians  are  come  to  Heaven  already."  The 
word  is  (and  the  translation  is  here  strictly  accurate), 
"Ye  are  come"  (or  "Ye  have  come")  "unto  Mount 
Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels  ;  " 
not  "  Ye  shall  come."  They  had  already  come,  the 
Apostle  says,  to  a  Society,  to  ■  a  Community  ;  and  he 
shows  very  plainly  to  every  thoughtful  reader  what  are 
the  characteristics  of  the  Society.  It  is  an  unseen,  invis- 
ible, spiritual  Society, — one  which  cannot  be  reached  or 
apprehended  by  the  senses.  But  it  may  be  said  :  "  The 
Church  is  the  Society  in  question  ;  and  is  not  the  CImrch 
visible  ?  can  it  not  be  seen  ?  When  a  Christian  CongTega- 
tion  meets  for  worship,  is  not  the  Church  then  visible  ?  '* 
Doubtless  there  are  members  of  the  Church  who  are  still 
in  the  flesh  ;  and  these  we  may  of  course  see,  and  effect 
a  meeting  with  them  in  the  body.  But  the  bodily  meet- 
ing, the  being  assembled  in  one  place,  is  not  the  ground 
of  our  union  even  with  these.  The  ground  of  our  union 
lies  much  deeper.  It  consists  in  our  having  "  One  Lord, 
•one  Faith,  one  Baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who 
is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us  all,"  in  our  all 
7 


146       Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead     [paut 

belonging  to  the  Body  of  Christ,  in  our  all  being  made 
partakers  of  one  Spirit,  and  having  all  one  hope  of  our 
calling.  But  the  recognition  of  Christ,  faith,  hope,  ac- 
knowledgment of  God  as  Father,  membership  in  the 
Lord's  Body,  these  things  are  all  spiritual,  internal,  hid- 
den ;  and  though  Christians  meet  together  on  earth  for 
Divine  Worship,  it  is  not  as  men  in  flesh  that  they  meet 
together,  but  as  having  an  union  of  mind,  heart,  and  hope, 
and  being  under  the  influence  of  the  one  Spirit  of  God. 
The  Society  therefore  of  Christ's  Church  is  essentially 
spiritual,  although  certain  members  of  it  may  accidentally 
have  a  local  connexion,  and  be  clustered  together  bodily 
in  one  and  the  same  spot. 

But  then  this  introduces  a  new  thought.  Invisible 
beings  may  have  a  true  communion  v\^ith  us  in  the  Church 
of  Christ.  Why  not,  if  the  Church  is  spiritual  and  in  no 
sense  bodily,  if  it  recognize  merely  our  eternal  and  not 
our  temporal  relations?  If  angels  adore  the  same  Lord, 
and  are  earnestly  w^aiting  for  tlie  same  final  manifestation 
of  Him  as  we,  if  angels  by  His  appointment  succour  and 
defend  us  upon  earth,  are  they  not  in  some  sufficient 
sense  members  of  the  same  Community,  although  we  see 
them  not  ?  And  what  of  the  spirits  of  the  departed  right- 
eous? Is  it  not  easily  concluded,  from  the  premises  al- 
ready laid  down,  that  our  communion  with  them  must  be 
far  closer  than  it  was  before  they  were  delivered  from 
the  burden  of  the  flesh?  For  then  certainly  much  of 
sinful  infirmity  hung  about  them,  which  intercepted  their 
view  of  Christ,  and  impeded  grievously  their  communion 
with  Him.  Now  they  are  w^ith  Him  in  Paradise.  Now 
they  see  Him  no  more  in  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face. 
Now  they  drink  in  joy  from  the  consciousness  of  Hi* 
Presence  and  favour,  and  are  full,  as  they  never  were 


II.]       in  the  office  of  the  Holy  Communion,        147 

before,  of  love  and  praise.  So  far  from  separating  them 
from  Him,  Death  has  just  eliminated  from  their  nature 
the  one  element  which  did  separate  them, — which  was 
sin.  And  accordingly  their  sympathy  with  us  in  our 
hope  of  glory,  their  desire  for  our  salvation,  the  spiritual 
concern  which  they  feel  in  us,  must  be  stronger  far  and 
more  fervent  than  ever. 

And  we  must  be  nearer  than  ever  to  them,  when  we 
perform  spiritual  actions.  For  in  the  performance  of 
those  actions  we  di'aAV  nigh  to  Christ,  with  whom  they 
are.  In  prayer  we  seek  His  face,  and  converse  wdth 
Him.  In  reading  or  hearing  His  holy  Word,  He  com- 
munes with  us.  In  public  worship,  when  we  are  gath- 
ered together  in  His  Name,  we  place  ourselves  in  His 
immediate  Presence.  But  the  closest  intercourse  of  all 
which  can  be  enjoyed  with  Him  upon  Earth,  is  that 
which  is  vouchsafed  to  penitent  and  believing  souls  in 
the  Holy  Communion. — When,  therefore,  the  spirit  of 
the  living  Christian,  by  any  of  these  means  of  access, 
draws  nigh  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  there  is  then  be- 
tween him  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  a 
real  nearness,  the  thought  of  which  should  be  most  con- 
solatory to  those  whose  friends  have  fallen  asleep  in  Je- 
sus. They  are  then  breathing  the  same  atmosphere  of 
communion  with  Christ,  which  those  breathe,  w^ho  are 
with  Him  in  Paradise.  The  radii  of  a  circle,  in  ap- 
proaching the  centre,  cannot  but,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
draw  near  to  one  another  ;  and  two  hearts,  though  sepa- 
rated by  oceans  and  mountains— ;-yea,  though  separated 
by  that  greater  gulf,  which  divides  the  seen  from  the 
unseen  world, — if  both  approach  that  great  centre  of 
attraction  in  the  spiritual  world,  "  the  Lamb  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,"  cannot  but  really  and  truly 


148      Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead      [paet 

draw  near  to  one  another,  thougli  there  may  be  no  out- 
ward visible  token  of  such  nearness. 

Such,  then,  is  the  doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture  on  the 
subject  of  our  communion  with  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect.  Now  every  doctrine  of  Scripture  meets, 
while  it  regulates,  some  instinct  of  the  human  heart. 
It  is,  for  example,  an  instinct  of  the  heart  to  long  for 
some  true  sympathy  with  us  from  Him,  who  is  the  ob- 
ject of  our  worship.  The  assurance  of  this  sympathy 
we  find  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  ;  and  here  the 
instinct  in  question  has  its  legitimate  satisfaction.  But 
it  is  regulated.,  as  well  as  satisfied.  Like  all  our  instincts 
it  is  apt,  through  the  perversion  of  our  nature,  to  mislead 
us  ;  and  from  indtdging  it  too  freely,  and  without  re- 
straint from  the  Word  of  God,  has  come  Mariolatry  and 
similar  corrupt  practices  of  the  Church  of  Rome. — Again, 
it  is  an  instinct  of  our  nature  to  long  for  some  outward 
visible  sign  of  spiritual  truths,  for  some  appeal  to  the 
senses  by  the  Religion  which  we  adopt.  When  this  in- 
stinct goes  astray,  and  is  under  no  regulation  from  the 
Word  of  God,  it  leads  to  idolatry.  But  the  Word  of 
God  provides  for  the  satisfaction  of  this  instinct,  and  for 
its  regulation  at  the  same  time,  by  the  appointment  of 
the  two  Sacraments.  Here  God  admits  an  appeal  to  the 
senses,  and  indicates  how  far  such  an  appeal  may  prop- 
erly go. — Now  there  is  in  our  nature  a  craving,  which 
has  manifested  itself  in  various  forms  at  various  times, 
for  some  intercourse  with  the  spirits  of  the  departed, 
some  tokens  from  them,  some  assurance  of  their  reality, 
— with  the  departed  generally,  apart  from  any  special 
relation  in  which  they  may  have  stood  to  ourselves.  In 
all  ages  and  in  all  countries  tales  have  been  current  of 
apparitions  of  the  dead, — pure  inventions  most  of  them, 


n.]       in  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion,       149 

but  showing  by  their  popularity,  and  by  the  ready  cre- 
dence lent  to  them,  the  strong  hold  which  this  instinct 
has  upon  the  human  mind.  But  may  it  not  be  said  that 
it  has  lost  its  hold,  at  all  events  upon  educated  minds,  in 
the  enlightened  age  in  which  we  live,  when  knowledge  is 
so  widely  difRised,  and  superstition,  one  ayouM  hope,  had 
taken  fairly  to  flight  ?  Assuredly  not.  What  is  the  so- 
called  spiritualism  of  the  present  day  (rightly  called 
Spiritualism,  forsooth,  to  distinguish  it  from  that,  of  which 
it  is  a  perverse  and  monstrous  caricature, — spirituality) 
but  an  attempt  to  break  a  passage  between  this  world 
and  the  realm  of  departed  spirits,  and  to  call  them  back 
to  familiar  converse  with  flesh  and  blood?  It  is  not  to 
our  present  purpose  to  inquire  whether  the  phenomena 
alleged  to  be  exhibited  are  the  result  of  clever  imposture 
or  of  real  witchcraft  (whichever  alternative  be  chosen 
by  those  who  profess  the  powers  in  question,  it  is  almost 
equally  discreditable  to  themselves)  ;  suffice  it  that  the 
appearance  of  such  phenomena  in  the  full  noontide  blaze 
of  scientific  knowledge  clearly  proves  how  deeply  rooted 
in  the  human  heart  is  the  yearning  for  communion  with 
the  dead.  Unregulated,  not  bridled  in  with  the  rein  of 
Reason  and  of  Scripture,  this  instinct  runs  away  with 
the  mind,  and  carries  it  doAvn  the  dark  precipice  of  a  real 
or  pretended  necromancy  !  But  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  satisfy  the  instinct,  while  they 
control  it.  The  Word  of  God  tells  us  certain,  sober, 
and  most  reliable  truths  concerning  the  departed  right- 
eous,— that  they  are  with  Christ  in  Paradise  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  we,  by  seeking  Christ  diligently,  and  cultivat- 
ing a  larger  measure  of  intercourse  with  Him,  may  cer- 
tainly come  into  their  immediate  neighbourhood.  We 
are  one  with  them,  when  we  hold  true  communion  with 


150       Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead     [paet 

Our  Lord ;  for  "  we  are  come  unto  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect."  And  in  the  Ordinance,  which  is  the 
chief  instrument  of  this  Communion,  our  Liturgy,  ad- 
vancing up  to,  while  she  does  not  presume  to  exceed,  the 
limits  laid  down  in  the  Word  of  God,  teaches  us  to  think 
of  all  those  who  have  departed  this  life  in  God's  faith 
and  fear,  to  commemorate  them  solemnly  before  God,  to 
seek  grace  to  follow  their  example,  to  aspire  to  that  crown 
of  righteousness,  which  by  faith  and  patience  they  have' 
won.  But,  alas !  these  truths,  this  devout  practice 
founded  upon  them,  are  too  homely,  too  familiar  for  us ; 
they  savour  too  much  of  the  Catechism  and  the  Sunday 
School.  We  go  in  preference,  after  signs  and  wonders, 
which  may  excite  us  with  a  pleasing  tre^^idation  ;  and 
instead  of  thinking  of  the  dead  as  communing  with 
Christ  in  Paradise,  picture  them  to  ourselves  as  busy 
among  tlie  furniture  of  our  houses,  making  noises  audi- 
ble to  the  outward  ear,  sweeping  their  hand  over  our 
musical  instruments,  or  spelling  out  (with  many  a  blun- 
der) secrets,  the  sublimest  of  which  is  not  above  the 
ran^e  of  fortune-tellino-.  Even  so  the  huno^erinoj  Israel- 
ites  turned  away  with  disgust  from  the  manna,  the  angels' 
food  which  fell  from  heaven,  and  lusted  for  the  fish  and 
fleshpots  of  Egypt,  which  made  more  of  a  riot  in  their 
blood. 

But  the  natural  craving  for  some  intercourse  with  the 
dead  is  of  course  swollen  to  much  larger  dimensions,  in 
case  the  dead  have  stood  in  any  special  relation  towards 
ourselves.  Here  comes  in  the  strong  instinct  of  natural 
affection, — one  of  the  purest  and  best  feelings  which  has 
survived  the  Fall.  What  a  painful  bleeding  of  the  heart 
succeeds  the  loss  of  those  w^ho  have  walked  side  by  side 
with  us  in  the  thorny  paths  of  this  life,  even  though  we 


n.]      in  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion.       151 

have  good  ground  for  believing  that  they  have  been 
taken  to  their  rest !  What  a  mystery  is  their  removal 
from  us — this  moment  by  our  side,  full  of  kindly  sympa- 
thies with  us,  and  interests  for  us,  and  frequent  and  fer- 
vent in  the  expression  of  those  interests  ;  and  now,  not 
ceasing  indeed  to  be  animated  with  the  same  sentiments, 
but  having  no  means  of  communicating  them  to  us ! 
Will  no  one  bring  them  what  the  Apostle  calls  "  our  ear- 
nest desire,  our  mourning,  our  fervent  minds  towards 
them,"  our  assurance  that  tjiey  live  still  in  our  memory? 
Oh  that  in  their  case  it  might  be  permitted  to  us  to  rend 
the  veil  which  hangs  before  the  unseen  world,  and  come 
at  speech  of  them  again  !  As  the  being  close  under  a 
mountain's  brow  incapacitates  us  for  judging  of  its  height, 
so  while  we  are  closely  mixed  up  with  our  friends  in  the 
journey  of  life,  we  hardly  do  them  justice  in  our  esti- 
mate of  them.  It  is  not  until  they  stand  clear  of  the 
collisions  and  commonplace  of  daily  life,  that  we  seem 
to  catch  the  real  spii'it  and  significance  of  their  charac- 
ter. We  see  them  now  with  a  halo  round  theu'  brow  ; 
taken  out  of  the  action  of  Life,  they  are  idealized  ;  the 
very  thought  of  them  now  is  softening  to  us  ;  and  we  find 
it  impossible  to  resist  any  appeal  founded  on  their  mem- 
ory and  example. 

Such  are  the  feelings  and  instincts  of  nature  towards 
our  departed  friends.  Like  all  our  iostincts,  they  may 
lead  us  astray.  Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
they  began  to  lead  Christians  astray.  Very  early  pure 
Religion  began  to  be  flawed  and  marred  by  too  strong  an 
ingredient  of  the  sentimental.  Prayers  for  the  dead 
crept  into  the  early  Liturgies, — not  indeed  forbidden  by 
God's  Word,  but  nowhere  commanded,  and  because  not 
commanded,  therefore,  surely  at  best  questionable.     But 


152       Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead     [paet 

■worse  was  still  behind,  for  which  this  beginning  paved 
the  way.    Np  sooner  does  Prayer  for  the  dead  pass  from 
the  expression  of  a  mere  pious  wish  (such  as  St.  Paul  ui>- 
ters  for  Onesipliorus  in  his  second  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
chap.  i.  18)  into  a  regular  and  systematized  practice,  than 
the  thought  intrudes  itself  that  their  state  is  capable  of  im- 
provement ;    for  else   of  what  avail  is  Prayer  ?      This 
thought  worked  like  leaven  in  the  mind  of  the  Church, 
and  developed  itself  at  length  in  the  monstrous  doctrine 
of  Purgatory ;    an  imaginary  penal  fire,  which  should 
burn  out  from  the  souls  of  the  righteous  the  relics  of  sin- 
ful infirmity,  and  wdiose  continuance  might  be  abridged 
by  the  faithful  intercessions  of  living  friends.     Our  Re- 
formers, when   they  addressed   themselves  to  the  task  of 
purifying  the  Liturgy,  found  this  most   unscriptural  and 
dangerous  doctrine  in  full  blow  in  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple.    There  was  no  possibility  of  thoroughly  eradicating 
it  but  by  cutting  aw'ay  root  and  branch  those  prayers  for 
the  dead,  which  it  must  be  confessed  are  found  in  the 
earliest  Liturgies,  but  which  were  inextricably  associated 
"with  the  doctrine  of  Purgatory  in  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple.    The  eye  of  these  Reformers  knew  not  how  to  pity 
or  to  spare  error ;  so  with  a  wise  austerity  they  took  the 
axe  in  hand,  and  all  prayers  for  the  dead  fell  beneath  its 
stroke  from  the  Reformed  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion. 
Thanksgiving,    however,    for    the  righteous    dead,   and 
prayer  for   grace  to   follow  their   example,   is   a  thing 
wholly  different  in  kind  from  intercession  for  them  ;  and 
as  soon  as  the  Reformation  was  firmly  established,  it 
was  thought  not  only  safe,  but  desirable,  to  add  to  the 
Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant  the  clause  which  com- 
memorates the  departed  righteous. 

And  surely  it  is  a  precious  clause,  and  one  which  we 


n.]        in  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion.      153 

cannot  afford  to  lose.    Surely  without  it  the  Office  would 
lack  its  present  beauty  and  perfection.     This  clause  just 
meets,  while  it  controls,  the  instinct  which  leads  us  to 
desire   a   re-opening  of  intercourse  with   our  departed 
friends.  •  It  just  administers  to  us  the  real  Scriptural 
comfort  concerning  them,  and  there  stops  short.     For 
what  is  the  Scriptural  comfort?    "  But  I  would  not  have 
you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them  which  are 
asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as  others  which  have  no 
hope.     For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 
even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring 
mth  Him."     But  that  this  may  be  a   consolation   to  us, 
we  need  to  be  assured  not  only  that  our  departed  friends  • 
are  in  the  Bosom  of  Christ's  Love,  but  that  we  ourselves 
shall  ultimately  be  gathered  into  that  bosom.     The  first 
is  a  subject  of  devout  thankfulness.     The  second  is  a 
contingency,  quite  within  the  reach  of  faithful  prayer. 
Accordingly  we  give  thanks  for  the  repose  of  our  friends  ; 
and  then  by  imploring  grace  to  be  followers  of  them, 
even  as  they  were  of  Christ,  we  aspire  to  the  happy  ha- 
ven, where  now  those  beatified  souls,  after  the  storms  of 
the  w^orld,  ride    quietly    and   triumphantly   at   anchor. 
Are  they  conscious  of  what  we  are  doing, — sensible  that 
we  are  bearing  them  on  our  hearts,  and  aspiring  to  be 
with  them,  while  we  present  our  homage  at  the  Altar  of 
God?     It  may  be  so.     But  this  at  all  events  is  certain, 
that  they  are  now  most  closely  united  with  Christ ;  and 
that  whether  they  are  conscious  of  it  or  not,  we  are  in 
their  immediate  neighbourhood,  w^hen  we  spiritually  eat 
the  Flesh  of  Christ  and  drink  His  Blood,  when  we  dwell 
in  Christ  and  Christ  in  us,  when  we  are  one  with  Christ 
and  Christ  with  us.     And  I  cannot  but  think,  although 
it  be  only  a  private  opinion,  that  they  are  more  or  less 


154:      Of  the  Commemoration  of  the  Dead     [paet 

conscious  of  our  nearness.  If  two  harps  are  set  to  the 
same  key,  and  the  strings  of  one  be  struck,  the  other  vi- 
brates. And  if  two  hearts,  having  an  original  sympathy 
with  one  another,  be  drawn  towards  the  same  Saviour, 
probably  there  may  be  in  both  an  instinct  leading  them 
to  recognize  their  mutual  nearness.  And  the  dead,  sure- 
ly, must  be  more  susceptible  of  spiritual  instincts  than 
those  who  are  in  the  body. 

But,  looking  beyond  the  small  circle  of  our  departed 
friends,  what  a  grand  view  of  the  Communion  of  Saints 
does  this  clause  open  to  us  !  "  For  ci!?Z  those  who  have 
departed  this  life  in  His  faith  and  fear,"  do  we  bless 
God's  Holy  Name.  Ml^ — under  the  Old  Dispensation 
as  well  as  the  New.  This  clause  sets  us  in  imagination 
in  the  midst  of  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  can 
number,  "  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues,"  comprising  infinite  varieties  of  human  charac- 
ter, yet  all  of  them  agreeing  in  this,  that  they  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  Blood 
of  the  Lamb,  and  hold  now  in  their  hands  the  palm- 
branch  of  victory,  won  by  grace  over  sin  and  Satan. 
Venerable  patriarchs,  the  glorious  comjDany  of  the  Apos- 
tles, the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  Prophets,  the  noble 
army  of  martyrs,  Abel,  and  Abraham,  and  Moses,  and 
David,  and  Samuel,  and  Isaiah,  and  Hezekiah,  and  St. 
John,  and  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Stephen — the 
same  principles  of  the  faith  and  fear  of  God  animated 
them  all  in  life,  and  supported  them  all  in  death,  although 
not  to  all  of  theni  was  the  great  Object  of  faith  revealed 
with  equal  clearness.  What  an  august  company  is  now 
with  Christ  in  Paradise,  waiting  till  the  elect  are  num- 
bered, and  the  grave  call  Him  to  come  and  save  ! 

Let  us  cherish,  in  our   nearest   approaches   to   the 


n.]      in  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion.       155 

Throne  of  Grace  the  thoughts  of  joining  them  at  tKat 
Day.  Let  us  fortify  ourselves  by  their  example ;  and 
thinking  of  them  as  spectators  of  the  course  which  we 
are  ourselves  running,  let  us  scorn  to  do  any  thing  un- 
worthy of  the  good  confession  which  they  witnessed  in 
their  day,  and  the  record  of 'which  is  left  for  our  encour- 
agement. Bat,  above  all,  let  us  fix  our  eye  steadily  upon 
the  great  Central  Object  of  Faith, — the  Glorified  Form, 
who  stands  at  the  end  of  the  course  with  the  garland  of 
victory  in  His  Hand  ;  for  it  is  only  by  not  allowing  it  to 
wander  from  Him,  that  we  too  shall  prove  in  the  end 
more  than  conquerors  :  "  Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are 
compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let 
us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  that  doth  so  easily 
beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set 
before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  Author  and 
Finisher  of  our  Faith." 


PAUT    III. 

THE      TRANSEPT 


LECTURE  I. 

OP   THE   EXHORTATION  AT  THE  TIJIE  OF  THE   COMMUNION. 

**  €Jibc  net  ti)at  toijid)  is  tolj  unto  tbe  6033, 
Neitljer  cast  je  jour  pearls  before  stoine." 

Matt.  vii.  6, 

The  Exhortations, — botli  that  in  the  Morning  and  Even- 
ing Prayer,  and  those  in  the  Office  of  the  Communion, — 
are  features  of  the  Reformed  Prayer-Book.  But  aUhough 
not  ancient,  they  are  valuable,  not  only  from  the  Scrip- 
tural doctrines  which  they  set  forth  and  enforce,  but  from 
their  rationale,  which  we  will  now  briefly  explain.  The 
Apostle,  speaking  of  Prayer  and  Psalmody  as  parts  of 
Public  Worship,  says,  *'  I  will  pray  with  the  spirit,  and 
I  will  pray  with  the  understanding  also."  The  words 
are  applicable  to  every  part  of  Worship,  and  particularly 
to  the  Office  now  before  us,  which  is  the  highest  part. 
Those  who  join  in  it  should  strive  to  combine  fervour 
with  intelligence.  Not  unfrequently  in  our  Churches  we 
see  the  two  things  separated.  Who  has  not  occasionally 
remarked  among  the  aged  poor  an  exhibition  of  unfeign- 
ed, heartfelt  devotion,  leading  them  to  join  audibly  not 
only  in  the  responses,  but  also  in  those  parts  of  the  Ser- 
vice which  are  specially  appropriated  to  the  Priest? 
Here  is  fervour  without  intelligence, — the  spirit  without 
the  understanding.     Educated  congregations  err  for  the 


160  Of  the  Exhortation  [paet 

most  part  in  the  opposite,  and  worse,  extreme.  Their 
education  may  qualify  them  to  understand  the  theory  of 
the  Service  ;  but  instead  of  throwing  heart  and  soul  into 
it,  they  are  too  often  kept  by  a  mistaken  feeling  of  pro- 
priety, or  by  an  awkward  bashfulness,  or  sometimes  by 
mere  indijOference  to  the  blessings  sought  for,  from  making 
any  response,  and  the  result  is  an  utter  deadness  in  the 
whole  proceeding,  a  want  of  fervour  and  unction,  which, 
when  contrasted  with  the  sublime  earnestness  of  the  sup- 
plications, is  painful  and  distressing  in  the  extreme. 
Here  is  intelligence  without  fervour. — Now  at  the  period 
of  the  Reformation,  one  great  want  of  the  Church  seemed 
to  be  a  want  of  understanding  of  her  own  Liturgical 
forms.  The  prayers  had  hitherto  been  offered,  the  Com- 
munion had  hitherto  been  celebrated,  in  a  "  tongue  not 
understanded  of  the  people."  Almost  all  persons  needed 
instruction  as  to  the  significance  and  the  contents  of  the 
Liturgy,  which  had  degenerated  into  an  unreasonable 
service.  To  correct  this  general  ignorance,  Exhortations 
were  introduced,  the  scope  of  which  was  to  lead  the  wor- 
shippers to  prepare  their  hearts,  and  which  summed  up 
briefly  the  object  and  design  of  the  Service.  Nor  have 
these  exhortations  lost  their  use  in  modern  times,  when 
rebgious  knowledge  is  more  widely  spread.  The  impa- 
tience of  them,  which  some  persons  manifest,  when  they 
call  them  Sermons  introduced  into  the  prayers,  and  im- 
ply that  they  might  well  be  dispensed  with,  is  surely  very 
unwise,  as  well  as  very  disrespectful  to  those  excellent 
divines,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  reformation  of 
the  Liturgy.  Does  the  mind  need  no  preparation,  before 
it  enters  directly  upon  the  solemn  Offices  of  Religion  ? 
And  if  it  be  admitted  that  "  Before  thy  prayers  prepare 
thyself"  is  a  maxim  not  only  of  common  reverence  but 


m.]  at  the  time  of  the  Communion.  161 

of  sound  policy,  inasmucli  as  preparation  facilitates 
prayer,  can  it  be  denied  that  the  Exhortations  in  our 
Prayer  Book  are  admirable  preparatives  for  the  Offices 
to  which  they  introduce  us,  and  that  they  sum  up  very 
succinctly  and  very  scrip turally  the  purport  of  what  is  to 
succeed  ?•  The  truth  is,  that  if  they  were  listened  to, — if 
the  mind  were  allowed  a  simple  passage  over  the  ideas 
contained  in  them,  they  would  not  be  quarrelled  with. 
But  people  being  in  the  habit  of  regarding  them  as  not  part 
of  the  Prayers  (which  of  course  they  are  not),  and  as 
works  of  supererogation  in  Divine  Worship,  no  attention 
is  given  to  them  ;  and  since  the  mind  creates  for  itself  its 
own  interests,  and  is  indisposed  to  create  one  in  reference 
to  this  part  of  the  Service,  the  Exhortations  are  account- 
ed wearisome.  But  let  the  attention  be  honestly  applied 
to  them,  and  the  wearisomeness  would  vanish. 

The  Exhortation  in  the  Communion  precedes  not  in- 
deed the  whole  of  the  Office,  as  in  the  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer,  but  the  more  solemn  part  of  it.  At  the 
end  of  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant  there  is  an 
obvious  break,  which  is  (or  ought  to  be  by  the  directions 
of  the  Book)  signalized  by  the  retirement  of  the  non- 
communicants.  To  recur  to  an  image,  which  we  employ- 
ed at  the  beginning  of  this  course  of  Lectures,  we  have 
advanced  up  the  Nave,  and  now  pass  into  the  Transept 
of  the  Communion  Office,  wdiere  we  gain  a  full  view  of 
the  Sanctuary,  and  place  ourselves  in  front  of  the  steps 
("the  Comfortable  Words")  which  lead  up  into  it. 
Here  then  is  an  appropriate  opportunity  of  once  more 
Avarning  away  those  Avho  would  be  unworthy  recipients, 
and  of  declaring  in  what  state  of  heart  and  mind  worthi- 
ness consists.  Thus  for  the  second  time  "  Begone,  ye 
profane,"  is  sounded  in  the  ears  of  those  who  approach 


162  ^f  the  Exhortation  [paet 

the  Holy  Mysteries, — a  prohibition  which  had  already 
been  less  explicitly  issued  by  the  stern  precepts  of  the 
Law,  re-echoed  by  the  prayers  of  the  people  for  mercy 
and  grace. 

Taking  this  warning  away  of  the  unworthy  to  be  the 
salient  point  of  the  Exhortation  (although  ind^d  it  has 
many  points  of  great  iDterest  and  importance),  we  shall 
make  it,  and  the  Scriptural  foundation  of  it,  the  subject 
of  our  remarks  in  this  Lecture. 

"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy,"  said  Our  Lord,  "  to 
the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine."  The 
term  "  that  which  is  holy,"  is  applied  in  the  Book  of 
Leviticus  to  the  meat  offered  in  sacrifice,  which  no  per- 
son, who  had  contracted  ceremonial  defilement,  was  per- 
mitted to  eat.  "  The  soul,"  it  is  said,  "  which  hath 
touched  any  such  [any  unclean  thing],  shall  be  unclean 
until  even,  and  shall  not  eat  of  the  holy  things,  unless  he 
wash  his  fiesh  with  water."  The  same  term  "  holy 
things "  was  very  early  applied  in  the  Christian  Litur- 
gies to  the  consecrated  elements  of  the  Holy  Communion. 
These  consecrated  elements;  the  holy  things  of  the  Church, 
and  her  pearls  of  great  price,  she  will  not  throw  before 
the  dogs  and  swine  ;  and  therefore,  acting  on  her  Mas- 
ter's counsel,  she  warns  those,  who  are  not  cleansed  by 
penitence,  faith,  and  love,  to*  abstain  from  approach  to  the 
Holy  Table. 

Thus  the  general  principle  of  this  warning  is  laid 
down  by  the  Lord  of  the  Church  Himself.  But  the  par- 
ticular application  of  it  to  the  case  of  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion comes  to  us  from  the  pen  of  St.  Paul,  in  words  which 
are  cited  in  the  Exhortation.  The  words  run  thus : 
"  Whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  or  drink  this  cup  of  the 
Lord,  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood 


m.]  at  the  time  of  the  Communion.  163 

of  the  Lord.  But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let 
him  eat  of  that  bread,  and  drink  of  that  cup.  For  he 
that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh 
damnation  to  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  Body. 
For  this  cause  many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and 
many  sleep." 

The  excesses  of  the  Corinthians,  in  connexion  with 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord,  have  been  already  in  a  previous 
Lecture  explained.  Their  sin  consisted  in  treating  it  as 
an  ordinary  meal,  "not  discerning"  (as  the  Apostle 
says),  i.  e.,  not  distinguishing  "  the  Lord's  Bqdy"  (the 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Body)  from  common  food.  To 
such  lengths  did  their  profanation  go,  that  intemperance 
was  sometimes  witnessed  at  the  Table,  where  the  Chris- 
tian Mysteries  were  partaken  of.  The  sin  had  its  occa- 
sion^ as  we  have  before  pointed  oat,  in  the  original  social 
character  of  the  Paschal  Supper,  with  which  the  Eucha- 
rist was  connected  ;  iU  root  was  to  be  found  in  the  divis- 
ions between  the  rich  and  poor  of  the  Corinthian  Clmrch, 
which  made  the  former  inconsiderate  of  the  great  truth 
that  they  were  members  of  the  same  Body  with  the  lat- 
ter, and  led  them  to  snatch  and  engross  to  themselves 
the  whole  of  the  viands,  which  they  had  brought  with 
them,  and  to  leave  none  for  those  who  could  not  afford 
to  bring  to  the  meeting  any  of  their  own.  The  punish- 
ment was  severe,  though  not  more  so  than  the  sin  called 
for.  The  Corinthians,  so  celebrating  the  holiest  Ordi- 
nance of  Christianity,  ate  and  drank — not  "  damnation" 
—  (that  word  conveys  a  wholly  erroneous  notion  of  the 
original),  but  "  a  judgment"  to  themselves  from  this  un- 
hallowed confusion  between  things  sacred  and  profane. 
Some  of  them  were  visited  with  failing  health  in  conse- 
quence ;  others  were  even  stricken  by  death.     Respect- 


164  Of  the  Exhortation  [part 

iug  the  eternal  state  of  such  persons,  as  nothing  is  said, 
we  have  no  means  of  forming  an  opinion.  All  we  are 
told  is  that  they  fell  ill,  or  died,  by  a  judgment  which 
their  profaneness  had  incurred. 

Now  the  question  arises,  "  Can  this  sin  be  repeated 
in  modern  times,  and  under  the  altered  circumstances  of 
the  Church  ?  "  To  the  answer  v/e  shall  now  address  our- 
selves. 

I.  In  its  outward  form  the  sin  cannot  be  repeated. 
The  precautions  now  taken  render  it  an  impossibility. 
Far  too  little  of  the  consecrated  elements  is  now  given  to 
satisfy  hunger,  or  to  afford  the  opportunity  of  intemper- 
ance and  excess.  The  prescriptions  of  the  Liturgy  bar 
all  disorderly  conduct,  while  the  congregation  celebrates 
this  holiest  rite.  Nor,  if  persons  are  now-a-days  guilty 
of  unworthy  reception,  do  such  results  ever  follow  as  the 
judicial  infliction  of  sickness  and  death.  la  short,  the 
outward  form  both  of  the  sin,  and  of  its  visitation,  was 
peculiar  to  the  circumstances  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
and  has  passed  away  never  to  return. 

II.  It  should  be  considered,  however,  that  it  is  God's 
plan  in  Holy  Scripture,  on  the  first  appearance  of  great 
ofience,  to  make  an  example  of  the  offenders,  which  ex- 
ample is  not  to  be  repeated,  but  to  stand  (as  it  were) 
upon  the  world's  highway,  a  beacon  of  wrath  for  the 
warning  of  mankind.  When  Uzzah  the  Levite  presumed 
to  touch  the  Ark  of  God,  which  none  but  the  priests 
might  touch,  and  which  the .  Levites  might  not  even  ap- 
proach before  it  had  been  covered  up,  "  God  smote 
him  there  for  his  rashness,  and  he  died  by  the  ark  of 
God."  When  Korah  and  his  company  arrogated  to 
themselves  the  ofHce  of  the  priesthood,  to  which  they  had 
not  been  called,  the  earth  swallowed  them  up,  and  all 


m.]  at  the  time  of  the  Communion.  165 

that  appertained  to  them.  When,  after  the  promulgation 
of  the  Sabbath-Law  to  the  Israelites,  and  the  distinct 
direction  issued  to  Moses,  "  Ye  shall  kindle  no  fire 
throughout  your  habitations  upon  the  Sabbath  day,"  a 
man  was  found  flying  in  the  face  of  the  precept,  and 
gathering  sticks  upon  the  Sabbath  day,  "  the  liord  said 
unto  Moses,  The  man  shall  be  surely  put  to  death :  all 
the  congregation  shall  stone  him  with  stones  without  the 
camp."  Thus  under  the  old  Economy  did  God  vindicate 
by  a  solemn  judgment  once  for  all,  and  leave  upon  record 
His  vindication  of,  the  sanctity  of  holy  things,  holy  per- 
sons, and  holy  seasons.  And  tliough  it  is  most  true  that 
the  new  Economy  is  one  of  mercy,  and  not  of  judgment, 
similar  instances  must  be  given  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment, by  way  of  guarding  its  greater  gifts  and  nobler 
institutions  against  irreverence.  One  of  these  is  the 
judgment  upon  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  who  were  struck 
with  sudden  death  for  a  false  pretence,  made  solemnly  in 
the  presence  of  the  Apostle  Peter.  Another  is  the  severe 
sentence,  almost  worse  tlian  a  temporal  judgment,  pro- 
nounced by  the  same  Apostle  upon  him,  who  offered 
money  for  the  power  of  conferring  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Another  is  the  judgment  upon  Elymas  the  sor- 
cerer, who  was  struck  blind  for  resisting  the  influence  of 
the  Gospel  in  the  heart  of  Sergius  Paulus.  A  fourth  is 
the  judgment,  sometimes  in  the  form  of  illness,  some- 
times in  that  of  death,  which  took  effect  upon  the  Corin- 
thians, who  profaned  by  excesses  and  disorders  the  Holy 
Supper  of  the  Lord. 

Now  be  it  observed  that  in  all  these  cases,  the  form 
and  circumstances  of  the  sin  are  more  or  less  obsolete. 
In  the  modern  Church  there  is  neither  community  of 
goods,  nor  miraculous  gifts,  nor  sorcery,  nor  the  practice 


166  Of  the  Exhortation  [paet 

of  combininoj  the  Lord's  Supper  with  a  social  entertain- 
ment. Yet  it  surely  does  not  follow  that  the  passages, 
which  record  these  several  judgments,  are  without  warn- 
ing for  us  now-a-davs.  Is  there  no  warning  in  the  tale 
of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  for  persons  who  now-a-days 
make  an  insincere  profession  before  the  Church,  and  the 
rulers  of  the  Church,  like  those  candidates  for  Confirma- 
tion, who,  Avhile  they  profess  to  be  surrendering  their 
whole  heart  to  Christ,  and  laying  it  down  at  the  feet 
of  His  minister,  are  really  keeping  back  a  part  for  the 
world  and  for  self?  Is  there  no  warning  in  the  tale  of 
Simon  Magus  for  those  who  place  the  Ministry  of  the 
Church,  and  the  gift  of  Holy  Orders,  on  a  level  with  a 
secular  profession, — who  virtually  trade  with  those  holy 
things,  by  thrusting  themselves  in  with  a  view  to  gaining 
a  livelihood?  Is  no  such  petition  heard  in  the  Modern 
Church  as,  "  Put  me,  I  pray  thee,  into  one. of  the  Priest's 
offices," — not  that  I  may  exert  my  abilities  in  converting 
and  saving  souls,  but — "that  I  may  eat  a  piece  of 
bread  ?  "  Is  there  no  warning  in  the  history  of  Elymas 
for  those  who  obstruct  serious  impressions,  when  just  be- 
ginning to  be  made  upon  the  heart  of  another,  by  levity, 
by  ridicule,  by  the  insinuation  of  worldly  sentiments  and 
maxims,  as  the  standard  to  which  we  ought  to  conform  ? 
In  all  these  cases  we  must  divest  the  sin  of  its  outward 
form  and  look  at  its  principle.  And  so  in  the  case  of  the 
judgment  upon  the  profane  and  disorderly  Corinthians. 
We  cannot,  indeed,  sin  in  the  same  form  as  they,  against 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  But  our  sin  in  respect  of  that 
holy  Ordinance  may  embody  and  express  the  same  prin- 
ciples in  another  form.  Whenever  we  lightly  regard,  or 
allow  ourselves  to  trifle  with,  this  or  any  other  Ordinance 
of  the  Lord,  we  are  incurring  in  greater  or  less  measure, 


ni.]  at  the  time  of  the  Communion.  167 

according  to  the  amount  of  our  levity  and  inconsiderate- 
ness,  the  guilt  of  these  Corinthians.  The  extreme  form 
of  the  sin  now-a-days — the  form  which  we  may  hope  it 
seldom  takes — would  be  the  approaching  the  Lord's  Ta- 
ble out  of  mere  deference  to  custom,  or  because  perhaps 
the  office  we  hold,  or  the  position  we  are  in,  requires  it 
of  us — the  going  through  it  as  a  sort  of  ceremony  appro- 
priate to  state  occasions,  with  a  heart  not  in  the  least  de- 
sirous of  the  Grace  of  the  Sacrament,  and  a  spirit  in  no- 
wise attuned  to  the  beautiful  devotion  of  the  Office.  Are 
we  wrong  in  thinking  that  such  a  participation  is  now-a- 
days  very  rare  ?  We  trust  not. — But,  next,  there  may 
be  a  participation  not  upon  the  whole  indevout, — certainly 
aiming  at  devoutness, — without  such  previous  prepara- 
tion, as  the  dignity  and  sacredness  of  the  Ordinance  re- 
quires. This  is  to  be  avoided  ;  for,  as  the  Exhortation 
before  us  well  remarks,  we  "  ought  to  consider  how  St. 
Paul  exliorteth  all  persons  diligently  to  try  and  examine 
themselves  before  they  presume  to  eat  of  that  Bread  and 
drink  of  that  Cup."  We  are  never  to  forget  that  there  is 
an  inspired  precept  for  preparation,  w^hich  runs  thus : 
"  Let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
Bread,  and  drink  of  that  Cup."  This  precept  makes  it 
wrong  for  us  to  approach  without  examination  in  some 
form  or  another^ — without  communing  with  our  hearts 
on  our  own  faults  of  character,  and  an  earnest  effort  and 
resolve  to  amend  them.  But  then  this  examination  and 
Belf-communing  may  be  w^ith  some  people  habitual. 
Surely  h  will  be  so  with  those,  who  are  honestly  aiming 
at  spirituality,  and  seeking  to  live  up  to  the  highest  stand- 
ard. It  may  fairly  be  presumed  that  such  persons  will 
not  usually  retire  to  rest,  without  throwing  back  their 
eye  over  the  past  day,  and  asking  a  specitic  pardon  for 


168  Of  the  Exhortation  [paet 

what  may  have  been  amiss  in  their  character  and  con- 
duct, and  a  specific  grace  to  correct  it  in  future.  Can 
such  persons  need  a  special  Examination  before  the  Holy 
Communion  with  the  same  urgency  as  those  need  it, 
who  never  examine  themselves  at  other  times? — Nor 
ought  we  to  understand  by  Self-Examination  the  mere 
habit  of  asking  ourselves  at  stated  intervals  a  string  of 
questions,  which  reduces  the  great  exercise  to  a  formality. 
If  we  watch  for,  and  make  ourselves  acquainted  with,  the 
weak  points  of  our  own  character,  and  struggle  against 
them  in  secret  prayer  ;  if  we  apply  the  Holy  Scriptures  to 
our  own  conscience  habitually,  comparing  or  contrasting 
our  frame  of  mind,  and  the  tenour  of  our  life,  with  that 
frame  and  tenour  which  they  commend  to  us  by  precept 
and  example  ;  if,  when  we  read  David's  Psalms,  we  ask 
ourselves  how  far  we  sympathize  with  his  love  of  God's 
Law,  and  with  his  taste  for  devotion,  and  when  we  read 
any  remarkable  illustrations  of  faith  and  repentance,  we 
seriously  inquire  how  far  we  are  under  the  operation  of 
the  same  principles,  and  found  confession,  or  prayer,  or 
thanksgiving  upon  the  answer, — surely  we  are  not  then 
living  without  self-examination  (for  what  but  this  is  the 
intent  and  purpose  of  the  exercise  ?)  and  surely  our  state 
is  in  that  case  one  of  habitual  preparedness  for  the  Sup- 
per of  the  Lord.  It  is,  of  course,  a  very  different  thing, 
if  our  daily  private  prayers  be  the  mere  repetition  of  a 
form  ;  if  we  seldom  read  Holy  Scripture,  and  seldom  ap- 
ply it  to  our  consciences  ;  if  Ave  acquiesce  in  our  faults 
of  character  and  temper,  as  something  which  must  neces- 
sarily accompany  us  to  our  grave,  and  do  not  strive  to 
correct  them  ;  if  (in  a  word)  we  do  not,  in  our  daily  life, 
seek  to  walk  closely  with  God.  The  Supper  is,  no  doubt, 
then  profaned,  if  we  approach  it  without  a  special  pe- 


in]  at  the  time  of  the  Communion.  169 

riod  of  devout  preparation, — if  we  do  not  at  least  do  at 
stated  intervals  what  we  ought  to  be  doing  continually. — 
And  to  all  we  may  say,  on  the  ground  of  St.  Paul's  warn- 
ing to  the  Corinthians,  "  Cultivate  in  your  minds  a  high 
and  holy  estimate  of  this  blessed  Sacrament ;  and  allow 
nothing  to  lower  tliis  estimate."  If  you  honestly  find 
that  frequency  of  repetition  detracts  from  the  sacredness 
of  the  Ordinance  in  your  own  mind  ;  and  if  you  are  quite 
sure  that  you  are  not  confounding  liveliness  of  impression 
with  that  strengthening  of  Christian  Principle,  which  is 
the  great  object  of  the  Ordinance,  then  make  your  Com- 
munions less  frequent.  Nothing  is  expressly  ruled  in 
Scripture  respecting  the  frequency  of  the  Ordinance  ; — 
and  accordingly  the  Christian  is  left  on  this  point  to  his 
own  spiritual  instincts,  which  will  however  surely  be 
formed  on  such  passages  as  these :  "  My  Flesh  is  meat 
indeed,  and  my  Blood  is  drink  indeed ;  "  "  The  Cup 
which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  Communion  of  the  Blood  of 
Christ?  The  Bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Body  of  Christ  ?  "  and  on  the  illustration 
which  such  passages  derive  from  the  practice  of  the 
Early  Church.  Every  man  in  this  matter  must  direct 
himself,  after  having  the  elements  which  enter  into  a 
riffht  decision  laid  before  him.  The  fact  of  there  bein^: 
in  many  Churches  (as  among  om'selves)  a  celebration  of 
the  Communion  otj  every  Sunday  and  Festival,  i.^>  not  to 
be  construed  as  implying  that  it  is  expedient  for  all  per- 
sons indiscriminately  to  communicate  so  often.  My  feel- 
ing in  our  own  case  is  that,  where  there  are  many  Clergy 
(as  through  the  great  kindness  of  a  friend  there  arc  in 
this  Parish)  the  people  have  a  right  to  demand  that  the 
perfect  Theory  of  their  Church  shall  be  carried  out ;  and 
being  convinced  that  this  perfect  Theory  is  daily  Morn- 


170  Of  the  Exhortation^  c&c.  [paet 

ing  and  Evening  Prayer,  for  which  there  are  daily 
Psalms  and  Lessons,  and  Holy  Communion  on  Sundays 
and  Festivals,  for  which  there  is  always  a  new  Epistle 
and  Gospel,  we  arrange  it  so  that  no  devout  person  shall 
be  able  to  complain  with  justice  that  opportunities  are 
wanting,  while  in  reference  to  those  who  cannot  at  pres- 
ent feel  it  profitable  to  communicate  so  often,  we  abstain 
from  all  judgment  of  the  conclusion  at  which  they  have ' 
arrived,  and  comply  with  the  Apostle's  direction,  which 
may  be  very  fitly  appropriated  to  this  matter  ;  "  Let  not 
him  that  eateth  judge  him  that  eateth  not ;  for "  (may 
be)  "  God  hath  received  him."  In  this,  at  least,  the  ad- 
vocates both  of  frequent  and  rare  Communion  will  be 
found  to  agree,  that  the  holy  things  are  not  to  be  given 
to  the  dogs, — that  the  Holy  Supper  is  unsuitable  for  the 
profane. 

Yet,  be  it  observed,  lest  those  guests  who  are  most 
worthy  should  be  discouraged  from  approaching  the  Holy 
Table,  that  a  sense  of  the  defilement  of  sin  is  one  of 
the  chief  qualifications  for  a  right  reception.  Dogs  may 
not  draw  nigh  ;  nor  may  swine  have  the  pearls  of  Christ's 
Body  and  Blood  thrown  before  them ;  but  those  are  not 
dogs,  in  the  estimate  of  the  Lord  of  the  Church,  who 
confess  themselves  to  be  so  ;  nor  those  swine,  who  stir 
themselves  out  of  the  mire  of  their  corruptions,  and  cry 
mightily  for  deliverance  from  them.  She  who  accepted 
the  title  of  dog,  and  with  the  ingenuity  of  faith  rested 
upon  that  title  her  claim  to  a  crumb  of  mercy,  at  length 
obtained  the  bread  of  the  children,  while  confessing  her- 
self unworthy  of  it.  And  he  who  lies  lowest  in  his  own 
eyes,  he  who  is  accounted  vile  in  his  own  sight,  yet  hangs 
on  to  Christ  from  the  conviction  that  "  whosoever  cometh 
to  Him,  He  will  in  no  wise  cast  out "  or  spurn   away, 


in.]  Of  the  Invitation.  171 

shall  not  plead  in  vain  for  a  crumb  of  the  Bread  of  Life, 
but,  having  come  with  hunger  of  heart  to  the  Heavenly 
Banquet,  shall  go  away  with  the  Vii'gin's  experience 
upon  his  lips  : — 

"  He  filleth  the  hungry  with  good  things." 


LECTURE    II. 

OF   THE    IlSrVITATION. 

"liljesent  |)is  Sn-bant  at  supper  Uxm  to  sa^  to  tijem  ti)at  toere 
fiiUDen,  €:ome  ;  for  all  tjiiifls  are  noto  rcali^.*' — Luke  xiv.  lY. 

It  is  certainly  an  argument  against  the  Revision  of 
the  Liturgy  that,  the  longer  and  closer  we  study  it,  the 
more  we  become  convinced  that  an  immense  amount  of 
care,  and  thought,  and  prayer  has  been  spent  upon  its 
construction,  and  that  a  Scriptural  and  theological  eru- 
dition underlies  the  whole  of  it.  We  are  apt  to  think 
that  we  can  well  afford  to  lose  some  of  its  minuter  feat- 
ures ;  but  a  more  careful  consideration  of  the  subject 
shows  us  that  to  strike  out  one  of  those  features  would 
be  to  forfeit  a  Scriptural  idea,  and  might  put  a  whole 
Service  out  of  joint.  Who  would  not  say  at  first  sight 
that  we  might  spare  from  the  Communion  Office  the  in- 
vitation which  precedes  the  Confession  :  "  Ye  that  do 
truly  and  earnestly  repent  you  cf  your  sins,  and  are  in 
love  and  charity  with  your  neighbours,  and  intend  to  lead 
a  new  life,  following  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
walking  from  henceforth  in  His  holy  ways  ;  Draw  near 


1Y2  Of  the  Inmtation.  [part 

with  faith,  and  take  this  holy  Sacrament  to  your  com- 
fort "  ?  It  is  but  a  single  sentence,  we  might  say  ;  and 
the  qualifications  of  communicants,  which  it  briefly  sums 
up,  have  been  given  us  more  at  large  in  the  longer  Ex- 
hortation which  precedes  ; — why  repeat  them  ?  Yet,  on 
second  thoughts,  would  the  Service  be  as  consistent  with 
Scripture  and  Primitive  Antiquity,  if  this  short  sentence 
were  away? 

Would  it  be  in  the  first  place  as  consistent  with  Scrip- 
ture? Let  it  be  considered  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a 
miniature  Gospel,  a  perfect  little  model  of  the  New  Dis- 
pensation in  all  its  essential  features.  This  New  Dispen- 
sation— its  happiness  and  privileges — the  festive  satisfac- 
tion which  the  soul  finds  in  its  blessings — -.are  twice  set 
forth  by  Our  Lord  under  the  image  of  a  supper — "  a 
great  supper" — "a  wedding  festival."  The  certain 
man,  who  ^  makes  the  great  supper,  sends  his  servants 
at  supper  time  to  say  to  them  that  are  bidden,  "  Come  ; 
for  all  things  are  now  ready."  The  king,  who  made  a 
marriage  for  his  son,  sends  three  detachments  of  his  ser- 
vants for  the  same  purpose.  By  the  agency  of  these  ser- 
vants guests  are  at  length  collected  (in  both  parables) 
from  the  highways  and  hedges.  In  the  last  of  them, 
when  the  king  comes  in  to  inspect  the  guests,  he  sees 
there  a  man  who  has  not  on  a  wedding  garment,  and 
expels  him  as  an  intruder.  Every  one  knows  the  outline 
of  the  interpretation  of  these  parables  ;  that  the  blessings 
of  the  Gospel  were  first  proposed  by  Our  Lord  and  His 
Apostles  to  the  Jews ;  that,  when  the  higher  and  more 
educated  Jews  with  Pharisaic  scorn  rejected  it,  the  Pub- 
licans and  harlots  pressed  into  the  opened  kingdom  ;  that 
ere  long,  since  there  still  was  room,  the  poor  despised 
Gentiles  thronged  in  from  the  highways  and  hedges  of 


ni.]  Of  the  Invitation.  1Y3 

the  world  ;  but  yet  that  it  is  by  no  means  every  nominal 
adherent  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  who  will  be  found  at 
the  last  great  day  of  inspection  to  have  the  internal  qual- 
ifications for  acceptance,  which  are  set  forth  by  the  wed- 
dino-  o;arment.  Now  who  does  not  see  that  this  whole 
procedure  is  represented  in  brief  in  the  Lord's  Supper? 
First  there  is  an  actual  Supper — a  feast  upon  the  sym- 
bols, which  both  represent  and  convey  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ,  the  true  "  Lamb  slaia  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world."  Then  those  are  bidden  to  partake 
of  this  Supper,  who  in  contrition  of  heart  feel  deeply 
their  need  of  a  Saviour,  and  rejoice  in  the  assurance  of 
His  dying  Love,  which  the  Sacrament  conveys.  Yet, 
though  it  be  no  merit  of  their  own,  but  rather  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  their  utter  demerit,  which  procures 
their  acceptance  as  guests,  they  must  not  lack  the  internal 
qualifications  of  Repentance,  Faith,  and  Love,  which 
alone  can  make  the  banquet  available  to  the  strengthen- 
ing and  refreshing  of  their  soiils.  Thousands  of  those 
who  communicate  outwardly  lack  these  qualifications, 
and  will  be  shown  at  the  last  day  to  have  been  "  in  no 
wise  partakers  of  Christ" — to  have  neither  part  nor  lot 
in  the  matter  of  Grace  and  Redemption.  But  in  order 
to  make  the  analogy  complete,  must  not  a  formal  invita- 
tion be  issued,  and  must  there  not  be  an  official  convey- 
ance of  the  invitation?  Now,  who  is  the  person  whose 
part  it  is  officially  to  convey  it?  Surely  he  who  is  tlie 
minister  of  Christ,  and  steward  of  the  mysteries  of  God. 
The  Sacraments  constitute  part  of  that  Divine  provision 
for  the  wants  of  the  Church,  of  which  the  minister  is  a 
steward,  and  which  he  is  set  to  dispense  to  the  household. 
He,  therefore,  is  the  servant  who  is  to  say  officially, 
*'  Come  ;  for  all  things  are  now  ready."     And  this  he  is 


174  Of  the  Irwitation.  [part 

directed  to  say  by  the  words  of  tlie  Rubric  which  pre- 
cedes the  Invitation :  "  Then  shall  the  Priest  say  to  them 
that  come  to  receive  the  Holy  Communion,  Ye  that  do  truly 
and  earnestly,"  &c.,  &c. 

But  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  is  not  only  the  miniature 
of  a  dispensation  present,  but  the  foreshadowing  of  a  dis- 
pensation to  come.  It  is  designed  and  adapted  to  lead 
forward  our  thoughts  to  that  Marriage  Supper  of  the 
Lamb  which  shall  be  celebrated,  when  the  Heavenly 
Bridegroom  shall  return  to  lead  His  bride  home,  escorted 
by  those  who  have  been  patiently  waiting  for  His  appear- 
ance. That  Supper  shall  be,  as  no  Sacrament  here  can 
be,  exclusive  of  all  those,  the  light  of  whose  profession 
has  not  been  fed  by  the  oil  of  personal  piety,  continually 
preserved  in  the  oil-vessel  of  the  heart.  It  shall  be  ex- 
clusive of  all  those  who  have  not  on  the  wedding  gar- 
ment. And  it  is  meet  surely  that  a  warning  to  this  effect 
should  be  made  in  the  very  conveyance  of  the  Invitation 
to  the  earthly  Supper.  An  admonition  is  surely  much  in 
place,  that  those  only  are  invited,  the  filthy  rags  of  whose 
natural  condition  as  sinners  are  covered  (by  a  real  faith) 
with  the  fine  line,  white  and  clean,  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness. In  issuing  the  invitation,  therefore,  the  Priest  is 
virtually  directed  to  bid  those  only  who  have  on  the  wed- 
ding garment, — those  who  "  truly  and  earnestly  repent 
them  of  their  sins,  and  are  in  love  and  charity  with  their 
neighbours,  and  intend  to  lead  a  new  life,"  and  moreover, 
and  above  all,  who  "  draw  nigh  with  faith." 

Thus  it  is  clear  that,  were  we  to  strike  out  this  Invi- 
tation, we  should  lose  a  Scriptural  and  valuable  feature 
of  the  Service, — a  feature,  moreover,  which  is  essential 
to  the  completeness  of  the  idea  of  the  Ordinance ;  for 


m.]  Of  the  Invitation.  1Y5 

never  yet  was  there  an  entertainment,  without  a  sum- 
moning of  guests 'by  formal  invitation. 

And  Ave  should  lose  a. primitive  feature  also.  In  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  the  deacon  address- 
ed the  people  thus  before  Communion:  "Draw  near 
with  the  fear  of  God,  with  faith  and  charity  " — a  briefer 
form,  of  which  ours  is  an  expansion.  And  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Constitutions,  and  the  writings  of  the  early  Fathers, 
similar  invitations  are  either  directly  mentioned,  or  it  is 
implied  that  they  were  made. 

It  will  be  observed,  in  studying  this  short  Invitation, 
that  the  qualifications  specified  are  not  all  put  on  the 
same  footing.  To  one  of  them,  which  is  faith,  a  promi- 
nence is  assigned :  "  Ye  who  have  repentance,  charity, 
holy  intentions,  draw  near  with  faiths  This  is  very 
significant ;  for  faith  is  the  principle  by  which  alone  we 
can  draw  near,  rather  than  a  mere  qualification.  The 
approach  must  be  made  in  faith,  with  faith,  by  faith,  if 
it  is  to  be  a  real  approach  at  all. 

I.  The  first  qualification  stated  is  repentance  ;  and  its 
necessary  characteristics  are  that  it  shall  be  true  (or  sin- 
cere) and  earnest.  Better  words  could  not  have  been 
chosen.  Our  concern  for  the  sins,  which  Self-examina- 
tion has  brought  to  light,  must  be  a  real  concern.  It  is 
not  said  that  it  shall  be  passionate,  or  vehemently  excite 
the  feelings  (for  this  passionateuess  of  grief  is  not  com- 
petent to  all  characters,  and  indeed  is  sometimes  found  in 
characters  of  the  least  depth),  but  that  it  shall  be  true. 
And  its  truth,  of  course,  will  be  most  satisfactorily 
evinced  by  the  abandonment  of  the  sin,  for  which  the 
concern  is  felt.  Yet  let  me  remark  that  there  should  be 
a  tenderness  in  the  Christian's  sorrow  for  sin,  which  no 


176      •  Of  the  Invitation.  [pakt 

review  of  the  sin  itself,  no  mere  moral  considerations  of 
its  evil  and  danger  will  ever  produce.  'The  only  specific 
for  throwing  this  element  of  tenderness  into  our  repent- 
ance is  a  devout  contemplation  of  the  Cross  of  Christ, 
and  of  the  Love  displayed  therein,  with  the  prayer  that 
we  may  be  enabled  to  mourn  for  Him  whom  our  sins 
have  pierced.  And  since  this  Ordinance  commemorates 
and  represents  the  Cross  of  Christ,  a  repentance  of  this 
sort  is  peculiarly  appropriate  in  the  communicant. 

IT.  The  next  qualification  is  Love,  or  Charity  with 
our  neighbours,  according  to  the  wide  acceptation,  which 
our  Lord  has  given  to  the  word  '  neighbour,'  in  His  Par- 
able of  the  good  Samaritan, — every  one,  however  estrang- 
ed from  us  by  prejudices  and  difference  of  associations, 
across  whose  path  we  are  thrown  by  Divine  Providence. 
It  is  observable,  that  Love  is  a  special  requirement  of 
them  who  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  over  and  above 
those  requirements,  which  are  made  of  persons  to  be 
baptized.  By  the  first  Sacrament  we  are  admitted  into 
the  fellowship  of  Christ's  Church,  before  which  admission 
we  could  know  nothing  of  Brotherly  Love  or  the  Com- 
munion of  Saints.  But  after  that  •  admission,  and  as  a 
preparative  for  the  higher  Sacrament,  we  must  exercise 
the  graces  which  are  involved  in  Christian  fellowship. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a 
Festival,  not  only  commemorative  of  the  Love  of  Christ, 
but  significant  also  of  the  Love  which  Christians  should 
entertain  towards  one  another.  "  For  we  being  many," 
says  St.  Paul  in  reference  to  this  Sacrament,  "  are  one 
Bread"  (one  loaf)  "  and  one  Body ;  for  we  are  all  par- 
takers of  that  one  Bread  ;  "  that  is.  By  partaking  all  of 
us  of  one  and  the  same  Eucharist  Loaf  (the  representa- 
tive and  the  vehicle  of  the  Body  of  Christ)  we  become  one 


m.]  Of  the  Invitation.  1T7 

Body.  Surely  it  were  profanation,  it  were  to  come  in  a 
spirit  discordant  with  the  whole  tenour  of  the  Ordinance, 
— if  we  were  to  nourish  ill-will  or  enmity  in  our  hearts, 
while  we  approach  the  Lord's  Table.  Has  not  Our  Lord, 
though  he  may  not  be  speaking  in  the  first  instance  of  the 
Christian  Altar,  implicitly  and  in  principle  forbidden  all 
such  approach,  when  He  lays  down  as  a  law  for  His  fol- 
lowers in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount :  "If  thou  bring  thy 
gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  rememberest  that  thy  brother 
hath  ought  against  thee,  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the 
altar,  and  go  thy  way  ;  iirst  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother, 
and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift "  ?  We  shall  find  it  a 
great  security  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  precept,  if,  before 
communicating,  we  make  it  a  practice  to  intercede  ear- 
nestly for  any  who  may  have  offended,  or  Avounded,  or 
thwarted  us,  and,  placing  ourselves  by  an  effort  of  mind 
in  their  position,  to  regard  their  conduct  from  their  point 
of  view  instead  of  from  our  own. 

in.  The  next  qualification  specified  is  a  pure  and 
guileless  intention, — a  readiness  in  the  will  to  part  with 
all  that  is  wrong,  to  adopt  whatever  a  conscience  enlight- 
ened by  God's  Word  may  point  out  to  be  right.  There 
must  be  no  reserves  from  God, — no  secret  refusal  in  any 
corner  of  the  heart  to  go  the  full  length  of  His  claims. 
The  former  requirements  were  that  the  affections  should 
be  in  a  right  state,  first  towards  our  Crucified  Redeemer, 
then  towards  man  ;  the  present  is  that  the  ivill  should  be 
in  a  right  state  before  the  heart-searching  God.  While, 
on  the  one  hand,  we  must  say  that  the  intention  to  lead  a 
new  life  is  by  no  means  equivalent  to  a  promise  never  to 
sin  again  (which  would  be  rash  in  the  extreme,  for  we 
may  be  surprised  into  any  sin),  on  the  other,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  a  serious  intention  to  keep  the  Commandments 
8* 


178  Of  the  Invitation,  [part 

of  God  will,  in  proportion  to  its  seriousness,  secure  the 
better  keeping  of  them.  We  have  very  instructive  prov- 
erbs, which  we  may  apply  to  this  subject,  both  on  the 
general  failure  of  good  intentions  (a  failure  arising  from 
their  indeterminateness,  want  of  point,  want  of  earnest- 
ness, in  a  word,  from  their  never  being  good  intentions 
at  all,  but  merely  good  ivishes),  and  also  to  the  effect 
that,  where  there  is  a  real  honest  and  earnest  intention, 
such  as  we  call  a  will,  there  some  way  is  always  found 
of  carrying  it  into  effect. 

The  above,  then,  are  the  dispositions  of  mind  and 
heart,  which  are  suitable  to,  and  of  a  piece  with,  the 
great  Sol^xinity  which  we  are  about  to  observe.  They 
constitute  therefore  the  wedding  garment ;  for  what  is  a 
wedding  garment,  but  a  garment  in  keeping  with  the  oc- 
casion of  a  wedding, — a  garment  whose  colour  and  beau- 
ty matches  with  the  festivity?  In  this  garment  we  must 
come  arrayed,  the  Invitation  tells  us,  if  we  would  be  re- 
ceived as  Avelcome  guests. 

But  then  it  passes  on  to  the  principle,  under  the  oper- 
ation of  which  alone  we  can  draw  nigh.  "  Draw  near 
with  faith."  Without  faith  there  is  no  possibility  of 
drawing  near  in  such  a  manner  as  to  partake  of  Christ, 
or  derive  His  virtue  into  our  souls.  If  it  be  asked,  what 
is  the  object  of  this  faith?  we  may  reply,  in  the  words  of 
our  Church,  "  a  lively  faith  in  God's  mercy,  through 
Christ,"  "  a  full  trust  in  God's  mercy,"  such  as  may  en- 
gender •  a  quiet  conscience.  We  must  believe  in  that 
mercy  as  applicable  and  extended  to  ourselves,  and  to 
the  particular  sins  of  which  our  own  conscience  accuses 
us.  And  the  belief  must  be  in  a  present  forgiveness  now 
bestowed,  and  must  not  sink  down  into  a  mere  nerveless 


m.]  Of  the  Invitation.  179 

hope  of  future  acceptance.  And,  again,  we  must  exer- 
cise faith  in  respect  of  the  especial  blessings  of  the  Ordi- 
nance,— union  with  Christ,  and  participation  of  His  Body 
and  Blood.  Our  faith  must  see  him  underlying  the  Ele- 
ments, and  offering  Himself  to  us  in  all  the  precious  vir- 
tues of  His  Mediatorial  Work.  We  must  believe  that 
through  the  Ordinance  we  ourselves  become  as  closely 
united  with  Him  in  spirit,  as  the  Bread  and  Wine  become 
united  with,  and  indistinguishable  from,  the  substance 
of  our  bodies  ;  and  that  thus  we  ourselves  become  living 
and  breathing  Sacraments  of  Christ,  bearing  Him  about 
within  us,  and  under  the  obligation  of  expressing  and 
representing  Him  in  our  lives.  Without  at  all  events 
some  amount  of  this  faith,  there  is  no  possibility  of  an 
inward  and  spiritual  Communion  with  Him.  There  may 
be  a  corporeal,  but  there  is  no  spiritual,  access.  We 
may  resemble  the  multitudes,  who  thronged  Him  and 
pressed  Him  by  an  outward  contact,  not  the  poor  woman 
who,  through  the  simple  touch  of  His  raiment,  drew  into 
her  afflicted  frame  the  healing  virtue  of  which  she  stood 
in  need.  And  when  at  the  last  day  we  plead  before  Him, 
"  We  have  eaten  and  drunk  in  thy  Presence,  and  Thou 
hast  taught  in  our  streets,"  He  will  not  recognize  us  as 
ever  having  had  with  Him  any  real  intercourse  ;  He  will 
turn  upon  us,  as  strangers  and  aliens,  with  the  words, 
"  I  tell  you,  I  never  knew  you  ;  depart  from  Me,  all  ye 
workers  of  iniquity.^ 

The  Invitation  which  we  have  now  considered,  and 
the  Exhortation  which  precedes  it,  are  most  integral 
parts  of  the  Office,  inasmuch  as  they  bring  out  into  such 
sharp  relief  the  internal  qualifications  required  in  Com- 
municants.    Here,  as  in  most  other  departments  of  The- 


180  Of  the  Invitation,  [part 

ology,  there  are  two  opposite  errors,  equally  avoided  by 
our  Church  ;  of  which,  in  concluding  this  Lecture,  we 
may  say  a  word.  There  are  those  then, — and  they  are 
a  numerous  class  of  religionists, — who  see  God  in  noth- 
ing external  to  their  own  minds.  If  such  persons  would 
speak  out  their  meaning  bravely,  and  carry  out  their 
principles  to  their  logical  results,  they  would  say  that 
sacredness  and  sanctity  there  is  none,  except  in  the 
heart ; — 'that  an  Ordinance  has  no  sacredness,  except  so 
far  as  man  is  conscious  of  receiving  from  it  a  sensible 
spiritual  benefit.  Thus,  in  Public  Worship,  such  persons 
would  say,  there  is  no  Presence  of  Christ,  unless  we  real- 
ize it.  He  has  said,  indeed,  that  "  where  two  or  three 
are  gathered  together  in  His  Name,  there  is  He  in  the 
midst  of  them  ;  "  but  h^  this  can  be  meant  nothing  more 
than  that  He  is  present  to  our  apprehensions ;  it  is  the 
action  of  our  minds,  not  the  celebration  of  the  Ordinance, 
which  draws  Him  down  into  the  midst  of  us.  On  the 
same  principles,  such  persons  would  say,  "  There  is  no 
sacredness  in  the  consecrated  elements  in  themselves  ; 
apart  from  the  receivers  they  are  nothing  ;  our  faith  it  is 
which  makes  them  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  to  us, 
and  not  any- act  external  to  our  minds  which  passes  upon 
them." 

But  what  saith  the  Scripture?  "•  The  Cup  of  Bless- 
ing which  we  hless^  is  it  not  the  Communion  of  the  Blood 
of  Christ?  The  Bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the 
(Communion  of  the  Body  of  Christ?" 

And  what  saith  the  Liturgy?  '■'■  SsLUCtlfy  this  tuater 
to  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin."  "  If  the  conse- 
crated Bread  and  Wine  be  all  spent,  before  all  have  com- 
municated, the  Priest  is  to  consecrate  more,  according  to 
the  form  before  prescribed."     Why  to  consecrate  more  ? 


in.]  Of  the  Inmtation,  181 

— ^whj  to  consecrate  any,  if  Consecration  does  nothing ; 
if  the  faitli  of  the  recipient  would  make  unconsecrated 
Bread  and  Wine  equally  available  and  effective?  The 
tendency  of  this  error  is  to  place  the  whole  of  religion 
in  tG^e  shifting  frames  and  feelings  of  the  soul ;  to  turn 
the  eye  exclusively  inward,  and  to  foster  a  wretched 
introspection  ;  to  hinder  man  from  walking  abroad  freely 
in  the  sunlight  of  Christian  Privilege,  and  a^jiong  the 
great  objective  realities  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

But  there  is  another,  and  at  least  equally  fatal,  error 
on  the  other  side.  In  contemplating  God's  Ordinances, 
we  may  look  wholly  at  the  Institution,  at  the  external 
observance,  and  dwell  upon  it  until  we  allow  it  to  engross 
the  whole  field  of  view,  and  put  out  of  sight  altogether 
the  state  of  mind  in  which  it  is  to  be  approached.  The 
Ordinance,  according  to  this  view  (and  it  is  the  view  of 
all  Romanizing  Theology),  becomes  a  spell  or  charm, 
which  acts  upon  us  independently  of  our  giving  our  mind 
to  it ;  and  a  sort  of  system  of  magic  is  set  up  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  which  quite  deprives  the  Institution 
of  the  character  of  a  reasonable  Service.  The  mon- 
strous'absurdity  of  such  a  view  is  shown  in  the  strongest 
light  by  some  of  those  frivolous  questions  which  Roman- 
ist Theologians,  pursuing  their  theory  to  its  just  conclu- 
sions, ask  in  their  books  of  Casuistry :  for  example, 
"  Would  an  animal,  partaking  by  an  accident  of  the  Host 
or  Consecrated  Wafer,  become  partaker  of  the  Body  of 
Christ  ?  "  The  very  fact  of  such  a  question  being  raised 
shows  surely  to  common  sense  and  common  reverence, 
that  they  who  raise  it  must  be  altogether  on  the  wrong 
scent.  To  come  across  such  a  difficulty  at  all,  they  must 
have  erred  from  sound  Reason  and  Scriptural  Truth. 
An  animal  has  not  that  immortal  spirit,  by  which  alone* 


182  Of  the  Invitation,  [part 

man  is  enabled  to  hold  communion  with  his  Creator. 
To  apprehend  God,  there  must  be  Reason ;  and  accord- 
ingly none  of  the  lower  creatures,  being  devoid  of  Rea- 
son, can  apprehend  God.  This  is  of  course  an  extreme 
form  of  error  ;  but  it  is  clear  that  any  approach  to  "such 
a  conclusion  must  be  wrong.  Suppose  a  man  imbruted 
by  sensuality, — one  who  had  reduced  himself  by  indul- 
gence of  the  animal  appetites  to  the  level  of  the  beasts 
that  perish, — such  an  one,  it  is  clear,  could  not  appre- 
hend Christ,  nor  become  partaker  of  His  Body.  There 
may  be  in  him  the  spiritual  faculty ;  but  it  is  latent, 
undeveloped,  almost  extinct.  Then  the  question  arises, 
'^  What  kind  and  amount  of  development  must  there  be 
in  the  spiritual  faculty,  to  ensure  the  blessing  of  the  Or- 
dinance to  the  recipient?"  And  the  only  answer  to  be 
given  to  this  is  that  which  our  Church  has  given.  There 
must  be  penitence,  real  and  gemiine,  if  not  passionate. 
To  celebrate  Christ  crucified  with  a  heart  of  stone,  what 
a  profanation  must  it  be  ! — There  must  be  love.  To 
celebrate  the  feast  of  love  with  any  portion  of  rancorous 
feeling,  what  an  awful  discordance  between  the  outward 
and  the  inward ! — There  must  be  holy  intentions.  To 
profess  self-surrender  to  a  crucified  Saviour  without  in- 
tegrity, what  a  frightful  hypocrisy  ! — And,  finally,  there 
must  be  the  faculty  which  realizes  things  unseen.  To 
regard  the  elements  as  so  much  natural  food,  and  not  to 
discern  by  faith  the  Lord's  Body  lying  beneath  them, 
would  evidently  be  to  frustrate  the  Ordinance  altogether  ! 
We  have  indeed  no  warrant  for  prescribing  the  amount 
of  these  inward  qualifications.  We  doubt  not  that  where 
they  really  exist,  there  the  Blessing  of  the  Ordinance  is 
in  a  degree  realized,  even  though  a  far  greater  measure 
of  them  might  be  desirable.     And  we  cannot  doubt  also 


m.]  Of  the  Confession.  183 

that,  the  more  we  grow  in  these  dispositions,  the  more 
fruit  shall  we  gather  from  this  Holy  Ordinance,  and  the 
more  shall  we  experience  the  blessedness  of  it.  A  life- 
less body  has  no  power  of  assimilating  food.  A  feeble 
living  body  can  only  assimilate  a  little,  administered  by 
degrees ;  but  a  body,  with  the  pulses  of  life  beating 
strong  and  quick  within  it,  a  hungry  and  a  craving  body, 
can  assimilate  it  thoroughly  and  easily,  and  grow  there- 
by. And  the  soul  resembles  the  body.  With  a  feeble 
spiritual  pulse  we  can  apprehend  Christ  but  feebly  in  the 
Holy  Communion :  but  if  there  be  a  strong  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness,  a  strong  craving  for  the  Bread 
of  Life,  a  strong  sense  of  spiritual  poverty  and  indigence, 
a  strong  resolve  formed  in  reliance  on  God's  Grace,  a 
strong  faith  which  pierces  the  veil  of  things  sensible  and 
material,  great  will  then  be  the  comfort  received  from 
this  Holy  Communion,  and  in  the  strength  of  that  meat 
we  shall  go  forward,  like  Elijah  of  old,  to  the  Mount  of 
God,  the  end  and  goal  of  our  pilgrimage. 


LECTURE     III. 

OF   THE    CONFESSION. 

"  Kf  toe  confess  our  sins,  2l?e  '\%  f nitljf ul  nnti  fust  to  f orfiibc  us  out 
sins,  nuH  to  cleanse  usfromallunnflijtcousness/'— 1  Joiixi.  9. 

Man  was  made,  we  are  told,  originally  in  the  image 
of  God  ;  and,  although  man  be  fallen,  there  are  still 
certain  echoes  in  his  nature,  and  in  his  dealings  with  his 
fellow-man,   of  the  Divine  perfections.     These   echoes 


184:  Of  the  Confession.  [pakt 

are  recognized  in  some  of  our  Lord's  Parables,  and  are 
indeed  the  basis  of  the  similitude.  What  other  founda- 
tion have  the  Parables  of  the  Friend  at  Midnight,  the 
Unjust  Judge,  the  Unmerciful  Servant,  the  Prodigal  Son, 
but  the  truth  that  God  will  deal  with  us  much  as  we 
deal  with  one  another ;  being  won  by  our  importunity, 
roused  to  anger  by  our  harsh  dealing  -with  others,  and 
moved  to  welcome  us  back  to  His  arms  on  the  first 
movement  of  a  true  repentance  ? 

Now  among  the  features  of  a  better  mind  in  man, 
which  have  survived  the  great  moral  wreck  of  the  Fall, 
is  this,  that  we  are  always  disposed  to  relent  towards  an 
offender  who  ingenuously  confesses  his  fault,  and  takes 
upon  himself  the  whole  shame  and  blame  of  it.  That 
man's  heart  is  unnaturally  and  exceptionally  hard,  who, 
when  another  says  to  him,  "  I  have  injured  you  deeply, 
and  I  have  nothing  to  say  in  my  own  defence  ;  I  throw 
myself  upon  your  goodness  and  forbearance  ;  forgive  this 
great  wrong," — can  spurn  away  the  suppliant,  and  refuse 
to  look  indulgently  upon  hira.  Now  this  feature  of  the 
human  character  is  a  dim  reflection  of  the  infinite  com- 
passionateness  towards  penitent  sinners  which  there  is  in 
the  heart  of  God,  in  virtue  of  which,  "  if  we  confess  our 
sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins." 

But  then  it  must  be  remembered  that  God,  inasmuch 
as  He  is  a  searcher  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart,  does  not  accept  as  confession,  as  we  are  obliged  to 
do,  the  mere  acknowledgment  of  the  mouth.  And  con- 
fession of  sin  with  the  heart  is  by  no  means  so  easy  a 
thing  as  we  are  apt  to  imagine.  The  mere  telling  forth 
our  faults  presents  little  or  no  difficulty.  What  is  so  dif- 
ficult— so  impossible,  except  by  Divine  Grace — is  the 
honestly  taking  to  ourselves  the  full  blame  and  shame  of 


ni.]  Of  the  Confession.  '  186 

them.  In  tlie  moment  of  the  Fall,  the  principle  of  self- 
love  acquired  in  the  human  mind  the  most  exaggerated 
dimensions ;  it  ceased  to  be  a  just  and  proper  self-love, 
and  became  self-partiality  of  the  grossest  kind.  And  to 
stand  clear  of  this  self-partiality  in  estimating  our  faults 
is,  in  fact,  the  hardest  moral  task  which  any  one  can  set 
us.  Our  present  mental  constitution  resembles  in  this 
respect  our  physical.  Persons  aiSicted  with  cancer,  or 
similar  complaints,  are  not  themselves  sensible  of  the 
loathsomeness  and  offensiveness  of  the  disease  ;  it  is  to 
them  endurable,  'though  it  is  eating  into  their  vitals  ; 
whereas  others  can  hardly  be  in  their  neighbourhood 
without  a  sensation  of  nausea.  And  bosom  sins  have  a 
similar  property  of  inofFensiveness  to  their  possessor, — 
to  the  very  person  in  whose  nature  they  are  a  great  gan- 
grene. The  man  cannot,  except  by  special  Grace,  stand 
apart  from  himself,  and  judge  his  bosom  sin  as  he  would 
judge  it  in  another.  We  see  accordingly  that  the  first 
indication  of  the  Fall  of  man  was  his  making  excuses 
for  what  he  had  done, — the  exceeding  reluctance  to  ac- 
knowledge the  freedom  of  his  own  will,  and  therefore 
the  fulness  of  his  own  fault,  in  the  eating  of  the  forbid- 
den fruit.  Adam,  when  expostulated  with,  shifts  the 
blame  to  his  partner  ;•  while  at  the  same  time  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  bring  in  God  Himself  as  partly  guilty  :  "  The 
woman,  whom  Thou  gavest  to  be  with  me,  she  gave  me 
of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat."  The  woman,  when  she  is 
referred  to,  traces  the  guilt  up  to  the  serpent :  "  The  ser- 
pent beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat."  Marvellously  lifelike 
representation  of  the  way  in  which  their  descendants 
have  always  cloaked  their  faults,  when  God  has  expostu- 
lated with  them  in  the  inner  man.  Do  we  not  all  make 
for  ourselves  excuses  precisely  similar?     Sometimes  we 


186  Of  the  Confession.  [paet 

secretly  whisper  to  our  own  conscience  :  "  The  passions 
are  so  much  stronger  in  me  than  in  my  neiglibour." 
Sometimes  (forgetting  that  different  positions  liave  dif- 
ferent temptations  of  their  own):  "My  circumstances 
are  so  peculiarly  trying."  Sometimes  :  "It  was  society 
which  drew  me  into  this  sin."  While  we  sometimes 
quarrel  with  (or  at  least  murmur  against)  our  Creator 
in  the  true  spirit  of  Adam :  "  Why  has  He  surrounded 
me  with  such  an  atmosphere  of  Temptation?  Why  has 
He  so  strictly  prescribed  virtue,  and  yet  made  the  attain- 
ment of  it  so  difficult?  If  I  throw  temptation  in  the 
way  of  others,  I  am  blameworthy,  and  consider  myself 
so.  Why  does  God  put  me  providentially  in  harm's 
way,  and  then  find  fault?"  And  aU  this  time,  while  we 
are  thus  reasoning,  we  fancy  ourselves  conscious  of  great 
rectitude  of  intention,  even  in  the  face  of  all  facts.  That 
is  a  profound  saying  of  the  wise  man's  :  "  All  the  ways 
of  a  man  are  clean  in  his  own  eyes."  Not  that  sinners 
can  sin  without  many  checks  and  hindrances  from  an 
accusing  conscience.  But  these  checks  and  hindrances 
do  not  interfere  with  their  favourable  estimate  of  their 
own  character.  Even  when  their  conduct  is  admitted  to 
be  faulty,  they  are  still  on  good  terms  with  themselves. 
The  man,  who  has  committed  the  most  atrocious  crimes, 
never  thinks  himself  a  demon,  though  all  the  world  may 
so  esteem  him.  The  truth  is,  that  the  human  will  never 
can  accept  evil  as  evil,  w^ithout  first  tricking  it  out  in 
the  colours  of  good.  And  having  accepted  it,  it  still 
clings  to  these  colours,  and  makes  the  most  of  them. 

There  is  one  certain  indication  of  the  exceeding  dif- 
ficulty of  lying  low  in  our  own  eyes,  which  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  adverting  to.  It  is  our  wonderful  reluctance 
to  lie  low  in  the  eyes  of  others.     If  we  really  thought 


m.]  Of  the  Confession.  187 

ill  of  ourselves,  we  should  be  quite  willing  that  others 
should  think  ill  of  us  ;  for  consider  that  it  is  not  in  our 
nature  to  be  angiy  with  persons  for  agreeing  with  our 
own  sentiments.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  apt  to  be 
favourably  disposed  towards  those  who  view  matters  in 
the  same  light  as  ourselves.  If,  therefore,  we  should 
find  ourselves  inwardly  displeased  with  persons  who  take 
a  very  low  moral  estimate  of  our  character  and  conduct, 
this  shows  very  conclusively  that  we  ourselves,  hov/ever 
humble  our  language  may  be,  do  not  really  take  the  same 
estimate.  If  self-esteem  were  really  killed  within  us  by 
the  perception  of  our  sins,  we  should  not  be  unjust 
enough  to  feel  irritation  towards  those  who  withhold 
from  us  their  esteem.  But  when  will  self-esteem  be  dead 
in  any  of  us?  Test  its  amount  of  deaduess  in  yourself 
by  considering  how  you  would  feel  if  called  upon  to  con- 
fess to  a  fellow-creature  the  worst  action  of  your  life  ;  or 
merely  the  worst  omission  of  duty,  with-  all  its  aggrava- 
tions, its  meanness,  pettiness,  and  all  the  details  of  the 
sin.  What  contrivances  would  there  be,  as  the  revela- 
tion startled  him  to  whom  it  was  made,  to  regain  the 
esteem  which  you  perceive  is  drawing  off  from  you  like 
a  receding  tide  !  How  would  you  try  to  escape,  by  every 
means  in  your  power,  from  lying  before  him  in  the 
nakedness  of  your  shame  !  How  would  you  weave  into 
the  confession  certain  good  deeds  as  a  set-off,  and  feel 
bound  in  candour  (so  you  would  put  it  to  yourself)  to 
mention  all  extenuating  circumstances !  Even  while 
making  known  your  guilt,  how  would  you  be  plotting 
and  planning  for  reinstatement  in  his  good  opinion,  and 
nom'ishing  the  secret  hope  that  your  confession  might 
give  you  in  his  eyes  a  character  for  humility  !  Why  is 
this,  but  because  in  your  heart  of  hearts  you  really  do 


188  Of  the  Confession.  [paet 

not  think  ill  of  yourself — because  your  sin,  however 
grievous  it  may  be  in  the  abstract  view  of  it,  has  not  at 
all  destroyed  your  self-complacency  ? 

Now  a  confession,  in  which  there  is  no  mortification 
of  self-complacency — in  which  the  sinner  does  not  lie  low 
in'^his  own  eyes,  though  he  may  express  himself  to  that 
effect,  is  no  confession  in  the  eyes  of  God.  But  on  the 
other  hand.,  however  there  is  a  real  self-abasement  in  the 
inner  man,  a  real  willingness  to  take  upon  ourself  the 
blame  and  shame  of  sin,  a  readiness  to  consent  to  its  ex- 
posure before  all  the  world,  if  God's  Love  and  Grace 
could  be  magnified  ttiereby, — there  God  deals  with  us, 
in  consideration  of  Christ's  finished  work,  much  on  the 
same  principle  (though  of  course  on  a  much  larger 
scale  of  compassionateness)  as  we  should  deal  with  an 
offending  brother,  who,  throwing  himself  on  his  knees 
before  us,  should  confess  an  injury,  and  implore  our 
forgiveness. 

Into  these  reflections  we  are  led  by  the  history  and 
the  contents  of  the  Confession  in  the  Communion  Service. 
It  is  by  no  means  a  new^  feature  of  the  Service, — confes- 
sion (sometimes  reciprocal,  of  the  priest  to  the  people, 
and  of  the  people  to  the  priest)  having  formed  a  part  of 
several  early  Liturgies  ;  but  our  own  form  of  Confession 
is  derived  from  a  contemporary  work  consulted  by  our 
Reformers,  called  "  The  Simple  and  Religious  Consul- 
tation of  Hermann,  Archbishop  of  Cologne."  In  mod- 
ifying this  form,  which  they  substituted  for  the  meagre 
confession  common  in  the  media3val  Church  (borrowing 
however  from  this  last  the  threefold  division  of  sins  into 
"  thought,  word,  and  deed  "),  they  have  shown  great  skill 
and  judgment.     A  passage  in  which  the  corruption  of 


m.]  Of  the  Confession,  189 

our  nature  was  confessed  in  strong  terms :  "  We  ac- 
knovv  ledge  and  we  lament  that  we  were  conceived  and  born 
in  sins  (and  that  therefore  we  be  prone  to  all  evils,  and 
abhor  from  all  good  things),"  they  have  altogether  omit- 
ted. And  this  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  at  the 
final  Revision  of  the  Liturgy  in  1661,  it  w^as  a  point 
objected  to  the  Confessions  by  the  Presbyterian  divines, 
that  they  were  "  too  general,  and  did  not  contain  suffir 
cient  reference  to  original  sin"  The  history  of  this  Con- 
fession shows  that  this  omission  (or  we  should  rather 
say,  this  subdued  allusion  to  original  sin)  was  more  or 
less  by  design.  And  for  this  design  two  reasons  may  be 
alleged,  both  which  probably  had  a  measure  of  weight 
Avith  the  compilers.  First ;  it  has  been  the  constant 
doctrine  of  the  Church  that  the  guilt  of  Original  Sin  is 
washed  away  (not  its  power  removed)  by  the  Sacrament 
of  Baptism.  "  The  fault  and  corruption  of  our  nature 
which  doth  remain,  even  in  them  that  are  regenerated," 
as  well  as  the  actual  sins  of  a  penitent  and  believing 
adult,  are  forgiven  in  the  One  Baptism,  which  is  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  Now  our  Confessions  are  of  course 
designed  only  for  the  use  of  the  baptized ;  and  on  that 
ground'  the  reference  in  them  to  a  guilt  already  oblit- 
erated is  less  marked  than  might  have  been  expected. 
The  Bishops,  in  their  defence  of  these  Confessions,  and 
in  reply  to  the  Presbyterians,  expressly  say  :  "  It  is  an 
evil  custom,  springing  from  false  doctrine,  to  use  expres- 
sions which  may  lead  people  to  think  that  original  sin  is 
not  forgiven  in  holy  Baptism  :  yet  original  Sin  is  clearly 
acknowledged  in  confessing  that  the  desii'es  of  our  own 
hearts  render  us  miserable  by  following  them,"  &c. — But, 
secondly,  our  excellent  Reformers  designed  these  prayers 
to  be  a  personal  confession  of  the  sins,  of  which  each 


190  Of  the  Confession.        '  [paet 

member  of  tlie  congregation  felt  him?elf  guilty.  To  al- 
lege the  depravity  of  our  nature  before  God  (however 
true)  might  seem  to  offer  some  excuse  for  our  actual 
sins.  Such  an  excuse  is  one  out  of  the  many,  by  which 
man  in  the  court  of  conscience  cloaks  his  sin  to  himself. 
"  I  was  born  with  this  strong  bias  to  evil,"  is  just  one  of  the 
pleas  by  which  the  guilt  of  sin  is  continually  evaded.  Our 
Reformers  did  not  wish  to  suggest  any  such  plea  to  the 
penitent.  He  was  to  be  taught  to  take  upon  himself  the 
full  responsibility  of  his  own  actions.  Notwithstanding  all 
the  bias  of  evil  inclinations,  his  will  has  been  perfectly 
free  throughout  his  whole  career  of  evil.  His  own  con- 
sciousness furnishes  the  best  proof  of  this.  Am  I  not 
conscious  that,  if  I  please,  I  can  arouse  my  will,  when 
temptation  is  offered,  to  resist  it  ?  that  I  can  bring  before 
my  mind  the  arguments,  and  apply  to  my  own  will  the 
motives,  whi-ch  persuade  to  and  prompt  resistance  ?  And 
this  being  the  case,  is  there  any  real  excuse  to  be  found 
for  me  in  the  strength  of  evil  inclinations,  more  especially 
when  to  me,  a  Christian,  God  has  all  along  proffered  the 
assistances  of  His  Grace?  So  that  the  more  I  look  at 
my  own  personal  identification  of  myself  with  the  sin  of 
Adam,  and  the  less  at  my  inbred  depravity,  the  more 
likely  is  my  humiliation  to  be  real. 

As  regards  the  contents  of  this  Confession,  it  is  in- 
structive to  compare  them  with  those  of  the  Form  in  the 
daily  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer.  They  who  do  so 
will  not  fail  to  perceive  how  much  deeper  is  the  tone  of 
humiliation  in  the  Prayer  before  us.  To  specify  some 
particulars.  God  is  here  addressed  as  "  the  Judge  of  all 
men,"  a  feature  of  the  Divine  character,  which  is  not 
brought  out  in  the  ordinary  Confession.  The  sins  con- 
fessed are  designated  by  the  strong  term  "  wickedness." 


III.]  Of  the  Confession,  191 

Not  content  with  the  simple  setting  them  forth,  we  hint 
at  their  aggravation  in  the  words,  '■'  which  we  from  time 
to  time  most  grievously  have  committed."  They  are  al- 
le":ed  to  have  been  "  in  thought,"  as  well  as  in  word  and 
deed.  Thej  are  said  "  most  justly  to  provoke  God's 
wrath  and  indignation  against  us."  We  profess  the 
very  memory  of  them  to  be  "  grievous  unto  us,  the  bur- 
den of  them  to  be  intolerable."  And,  finally,  we  empha- 
size the  cry  for  mercy  by  twice  repeating  it:  '"Have 
mercy  upon  us,  have  mercy  upon  us,  most  merciful 
Father."  There  can  be  no  question  that  the  daily  Con- 
fession implies  much  less  of  a  lively  concern  for  sin, 
much  less  profound  abasement.  And  there  is  a  great 
lesson  here,  which  we  shall  do  well  not  to  overlook. 
Our  Blessed  Lord,  in  His  solemn  words  to  St.  Peter,  rec- 
ognizes two  sorts  of  spiritual  cleansing ;  one  total,  and 
of  the  entire  person,  the  other  partial,  and  needing  to  be 
daily  renewed :  "  He  that  is  washed "  (it  should  be, 
"that  is  bathed," — whose  whole  person  is  washed), 
"  needeth  not  save  to  wash  his  feet,  but  is  clean  every 
whit."  We  may  apply  this  passage  to  illustrate  the  dis- 
tinction in  tone  between  these  two  Confessions.  There 
are  sins  of  infirmity, — dust  which  we  collect  upon  our 
feet  during  our  walk  through  the  world,  and  which  needs 
to  be  daily  wiped  ofi"  by  confession,  and  by  seeking  fresh 
pardon  through  Christ's  Blood.  The  daily  Confession, 
then,  is  for  the  Avashing  of  this  dust  from  the  feet.  But 
more  solemn  periods  of  humiliation  are  desirable,  when 
we  may  review  with  stricter  scrutiny  a  larger  period  of 
our  career,  and  marking  how  stained  with  sin  the  whole 
of  it  is,  and  how  even  "  our  righteousnesses  have  been  as 
filthy  rags," — how  "  our  repentance  needs  to  be  repented 
of,  and  the  tears  which  we  shed  for  sin  to  be  washed  over 


192  Of  the  Confession,  [paet 

again  in  the  Blood  of  Christ," — may  abase  ourselves 
more  deeply  in  God's  sight.  And  when  shall  these 
periods  rather  be,  than  before  we  draw  near  to  the 
Holy  Table,  to  communicate  with  our  Lord's  Passion, 
and  to  partake  of  remission  of  sins,  and  all  the  other 
fruits  of  it?  Approaches  to  God,  which  merely  bring 
us  into  His  Presence,  without  uniting  us  to  Him,  need 
not  so  deep  a  humiliation.  But  in  proportion  to  the 
nearness  of  the  approach  Cand  in  the  Lord's  Supper  we 
have  the  nearest  approach,  which  it  is  possible  to  have 
on  earth)  must  be  the  depth  of  our  abasement.  Were 
we  to  see  Christ  without  a  veil,  as  the  holiest  saints  have 
sometimes  been  privileged  to  see  Him,  and  as  we  shall 
all  see  Him  in  the  future  state,  we  should  fall  at  His  feet 
as  dead,  as  did  the  beloved  Apostle  in  Patmos ;  we 
should  exclaim,  with  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  when  we  saw 
His  glory,  "  Woe  is  me  !  for  I  am  undone ;  because  I 
am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a 
people  of  unclean  lips  ;  "  we  should  answer,  with  Thomas, 
when  convicted  by  the  sight  of  the  sacred  wounds,  "  My 
L'ord  and  my  God."  And  when  Ave  are  about  to  see 
Christ  under  a  veil,  as  the  Lamb  which  has  been  slain, 
but  w'ho  is  now  alive  again,  and  ready  to  communicate 
Himself  to,  and  to  identify  Himself  with,  every  penitent 
and  believing  soul,  should  not  this  wonderful  condescen- 
sion work  in  us  a  feeling  akin  to  that  expressed  by  Job  : 
"  I  have  heard  of  Thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear  ;  but 
now  mine  eye  seeth  Thee.  Wherefore  I  abhor  myself, 
and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 

The  Confession  at  the  Communion  gives  utterance  to 
such  a  'feeling.  Perhaps  no  Communicants  realize  its 
terms  to  their  full  extent.  But  this  is  certain,  that  the 
more  we  realize  them,  the  more  deeply  we  sympathize 


in.]  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  193 

with  the  thoughts  which  that  hinguage  conveys,  the 
larger  will  be  the  blessing  which  we  derive  from  the  Or- 
dinance. For  what  is  it  which  prevents  our  minds  from 
being  filled  with  God?  Is  it  not  the  amount  of  space, 
which  self  occupies  in  them?  If,  then,  by  Grace  be- 
stowed in  answer  to  earnest  Prayer,  the  mind  be  emptied 
of  self; — if  self-complacency  be  turned  into  self-abhor- 
rence, and  self-confidence  give  place  to  self-distrust, — 
then  the  way  of  Christ  is  prepared  in  the  soul,  and  He 
will  enter  in,  and  dAvell  there,  and  fulfil  to  us  that  most 
gracious  promise,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock ;  if  any  man  hear  My  voice,  and  open  the  door, 
I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he 
with  Me." 


LECTURE    IV. 

OF   MIXISTERIAI,   ABSOLUTION. 

**^t)eii  sailr  %t%\xs  to  tijcnt  aflain,  3,3cacc  fii  unto  jjou:  as  i^w 
iFatfjcr  f)nt1)  sent  i^c,  cbcn  so  szxCa  £  i'o«.  ^nn  bjljcn  7i}e 
!)aD  salt)  tljts,  "^z  bi-eatftcti  on  tljcm,  antr  saitt)  unto  tijem,  aac= 
ccibc  jc  tl)c  ?t)jl))  CSljost:  toljosc  socbci*  sins  re  remit,  tijei)  are 
remittctj  unto  tljem ;  anti  lD!)ose  soeber  sins  £e  retain,  tjes  are 
retaineti.*' — Jonx  xx.  21 — 23. 

In  these  words  Our  Blessed  Lord,  at  His  first  inter- 
view with  them  aftar  His  Resurrection,  conveyed  to  His 
Apostles  the  power  of  remitting  and  retaining  sins.  The 
risen  Saviour  brings  this  power  with  Him  as  the  first- 
fruits  of  His  Death  and  Passion.  That  Death  had  pur- 
9 


194  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  [paet 

chased  forgiveness  ;  His  Blood  was  "  slied  for  many /or 
tlie  remission  of  sinsJ'  And,  accordingly,  the  Blood 
having  been  shed,  the  power  of  remission  is  lodged  at 
once,  on  the  very  Resurrection  Day,  in  the  hands  of  the 
Apostles.  It  is  observable  that  the  bestowal  of  this 
power  is  not  delayed  till  Pentecost,  when  the  Eleven 
were  fully  qualified  for  their  mission.  And  the  circum- 
stance may  perhaps  be  designed  to  teacli  us  that  there  is 
a  distinction  (which  has  been  always  recognized  by  the 
Reformed  Churches)  between  justification  (or  the  acquit- 
tal of  a  sinner)  and  sanctification  (or  his  being  made 
holy)  ;  that  the  one  pi^cedes  the  other  in  point  of  time  ; 
that  not  until  a  sinner  has  been  forgiven,  can  his  sanc- 
tification commence. 

We  have  now  arrived  in  our  course  of  Lectures  at 
the  Precatory  Absolution,  which  succeeds  the  Confession 
in  our  Communion  Office.  But  we  cannot  treat  this 
Prayer  satisfactorily,  unless  we  go  to  the  root  of  the 
matter,  and  consider  the  power  of  Absolution  generally, 
both  in  its  Scriptural  grounds,  and  in  the  forms  which  it 
takes  in  our  own  Communion.  And  this  will  necessarily 
occupy  more  than  one  Lecture. 

We  will  first,  then,  seek  to  understand  this  power,  as 
lodged  in  the  hands  of,  and  exercised  by,  the  Apostles. 

Many  things  said  by  Our  Lord  to  His  Apostles  were 
addressed  to  them  as  private  Christians,  having  no  offi- 
cial character  or  peculiar  prerogative.  Examples  of 
such  words,  which  we  may  all  take  to  ourselves,  are, — 
"  If  two  df  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  any 
thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  My 
Father  v/hich  is  in  heaven."  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world.  .  .  .  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father 


in.]  Of  Ministerial  Absolution,  195 

which  is  in  heaven."  "  Watch  ;  for  ye  know  not  when 
the  Master  of  the  house  cometh." 

Other  things  were  said  to  them,  as  men  who  occupied 
a  peculiar  position,  which  no  other  men  did,  and  none 
other  can,  occupy, — words  which  are  obviously  for  them, 
and  for  them  alone.  Instances  are :  "  Ye  are  they 
which  have  continued  with  Me  in  My  temptations.  And 
I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  My  Father  hath  ap- 
pointed unto  Me  ;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  My  table 
in  My  kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel."  "The  Holy  Ghost  shall  bring  all 
things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unt<^ 
you."  "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  Me,  bo-th  in  Jerusa- 
lem, and  in  all  Jud^a,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the 
uttermost  part  of  the  earth." 

Finally,  some  things  which  are  said  to  them,  are  ad- 
dressed to  them  in  their  official  capacity,  as  representa- 
tives of  the  Christian  Ministry  to  the  end  of  Time.  I 
will  quote  one  such  word :  "  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach 
all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you : 
and,  lo,  /  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
loorld."  The  Apostles,  however,  did  not  live  (and  Our 
Lord  must  have  known  that  they  would  not  live)  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  which  shows  us  that  He  w^s  speaking 
to  them  not  as  individuals,  but  as  representatives  of 
those,  who  to  the  end  of  the  world  should  hold  His  com- 
mission to  baptize,  and  to  give  Christian  instruction. 
And  it  will  not  be  denied  that  this  commission  is  held  by 
Christian  Ministers  only,  and  not  by  the  Laity. 

The  first  point  necessary  for  the  understanding  of  Our 


196  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  [part    , 

Lord's  words  in  the  passage  before  us  is  to  inquire  under 
what  capacity  it  is  that  He  is  addressing  His  Apostles. 
For  if  it  is  in  the  second  capacity,  as  those  who  had  been 
associated  with  Him  in  His  temptations, — as  those  who 
had  companied  with  him  during  the  period  of  His  earthly 
pilgrimage,  and  thus  were  competent  witnesses  to  the 
world  of  His  Resurrection,  in  that  case  we  have  no  prac- 
tical concern  at  all  with  the  power  of  Absolution,  how- 
ever reasonably  we  may  feel  an  interest  of  curiosity  in  it. 
If  the  power  expired  with  the  Apostles,  it  would  not  con- 
duce any  more  to  our  spiritual  welfare  to  know  what  it 
4vas,  or  what  it  did  for  mankind,  than  it  would  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  the  gift  of  tongues. 

Now  that  Our  Lord  did  not  speak  these  solemn 
words  to  the  Eleven,  as  representing  private  Christians, 
may  be  gathered  first  from  the  context,  which  points 
very  clearly  to  their  true  application  :  "  Then  said  Jesus 
to  them  again,  Peace  be  unto  you :  as  My  Father  hath 
sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  He  had  said 
this.  He  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost :  whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are 
remitted  unto  them ;  and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain, 
they  are  retained."  It  is  clear  that  the  power  of  remit- 
ting and  retaining  sins  is  conferred  on  the  persons  who 
had  received  the  mission ;  that  the  power  and  this  mis- 
sion are  not  to  be  disjoined.  And  what  then  is  the  mis- 
sion ?  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  it  is  the  same  as  that 
recorded  by  (and  which  we  have  already  had  occasion  to 
quote  from)  St.  Matthew,  a  mission  to  go  into  all  the 
world,  and  make  disciples  by  baptism  and  Christian 
teaching.  Our  Lord  Himself  had  come  on  this  mission, 
having  been  sent  by  the  Father.  He  had  preached  in 
every  synagogue,  in  the  Temple,  and  under  the  canopy 


in.]  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  19Y 

of  the  sky,  the  Kingdom  of  God.  By  this  preaching  He 
had  made  and  baptized  (though  not  with  His  own  hands) 
"  more  disciples  than  John."  And  now  He  sends  His 
delegates  on  the  same  mission, — a  mission  not  confined 
(as  formerly)  to  Judrea,  but  extending  to  the  whole 
world.  Bat  if  this  be  the  mission,  it  is  not  one  which 
has  descended  to  private  Christians.  Therefore  neither 
has  the  power  of  remitting  and  retaining  sins  which  is 
associated  with  it. 

Again  ;  that  these  words  were  not  addressed  to  the 
Apoj^es  exclusively,  and  as  persons  occupying  a  pecu- 
liar position,  which  can  be  held  by  none  other,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  nature  of  the  power  conferred.  It  is 
not  a  miraculous  gift,  which  is  here  bestowed,  in  which 
case  we  should  of  course  think  it  an  endowment  limited 
to  the  Apostolic  age.  It  is  not  a  power,  the  necessity  of 
which  has  ceased,  or  ever  will  cease,  until  sin  is  exter- 
minated. It  is  the  power  of  remitting  sins  ;  as  much 
called  for  surely  in  one  age  as  in  another.  Surely  this 
power  is  as  essential  to  the  health  and  well-being  of  souls, 
in  whatever  age  they  are  brought  out  into  existence,  as 
the  power  to  preach,  and  teach,  and  administer  the 
Sacraments ;  and  being  so,  it  must  continue  with  the 
Church,  as  the  Saviour's  Presence  does,  "  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world."  For  it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  the 
death  of  the  Apostles  should  cut  off  the  entail  of  an  in- 
heritance, purchased  by  the  Lord's  Death  not  for  them 
alone,  but  for  all  those  who  should  believe  on  Him 
through  their  word.  No  !  assuredly  these  keys  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  have  passed  down  from  the  Apos- 
tles into  the  custody  of  those  who  have  truly  inherited 
the  Apostles'  Ministry  in  its  ordinary  powers.  And  that 
such  is  the  view  taken  by  our  Church  is  clear  from  the 


198  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  [part 

fact  that  Our  Lord's  words  in  the  text  are  repeated  at 
the  Ordination  of  every  Priest,  the  formula  of  which 
runs  thus :  "  Receive  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  office  and 
work  of  a  Priest  in  the  Church  of  God,  now  committed 
unto  thee  by  the  Imposition  of  our  hands.  Whose  sins 
thou  dost  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  ;  and  whose  sins  thou 
dost  retain,  they  are  retained.^^  But  unless  the  power  of 
Absolution  still  abide  substantially  with  the  Christian 
Ministry,  such  use  of  these  words  must  surely  be  pre- 
sumptuous in  a  high  degree,  even  to  the  verge  of  blas- 
phemy. ^ 

Now  there  is  but  one  qualification  of  what  has  been 
said,  which  requires  to  be  taken  into  account.  It  is  this  : 
Though  the  power  of  Absolution  did  not  attach  exclu- 
sively to  the  Ministers  of  the  Primitive,  as  distinct  from 
those  of  the  Modern,  Church, — there  was  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Church  a  miraculous  power,  which  greatly  helped  the 
Minister  in  the  right  exercise  of  Absolution.  This  power 
was  called  ''  the  discerning  of  spirits  ;  "  and  in  virtue  of 
it,  the  Holy  Apostles,  and  some  o.f  those  on  whom  they 
laid  hands,,,  were  enabled  on  occasions  to  read  the  heart 
and  discern  the  true  character  of  the  persons  with  whom 
they  had  to  deal.  They  were  not  dependent  on  a  man's 
profession  of  penitence  and  faith  for  a  knowledge  of  his 
state  of  mind  ;  but  they  read  penitence  and  faith,  impen- 
itence and  unbelief,  by  a  miraculous  intuition.  Now  it 
is  evident  that,  in  the  whole  administration  of  their  ab- 
solving power,  this  discernment  of  spirits  must  have 
greatly  helped  them,  specially  where  it  was  to  be  ex- 
ercised towards  individuals.  For  if  a  man  has  not  re- 
pentance and  faith,  he  has  no  receptivity  for,  no  capacity 
of  profiting  by.  Absolution  or  Baptism,  or  the  Lord's 
Supper,  or  the  Benediction  of  the  Church,  and  should 


nr.]  Of  Ministerial  Absolution,  199 

accordingly  be  excluded  from  tliem.  And,  accordingly, 
the  power  of  seeing  infallibly  whether  men  had  these 
graces  or  had  them  not,  must  have  been  an  assistance  to 
the  Apostles  in  enabling  them  to  absolve  or  retain  sins 
aright,  and  according  to  the  mind  of  God.  They  could 
not  make  a  mistake  as  to  the  characters  which  were  re- 
ceptive of,  and  prepared  for,  Absolution.  And  this  may 
make,  and  justly  does  make,  a  difference  between  them 
and  modern  ministers  : — the  amount  of  which  is  this, 
that  modern  ministers  must  exercise  the  great  function 
(at  all  events  towards  individuals)  with  a  caution,  and  a 
reserve,  and  a  deliberateness,  very  much  greater*  than 
was  required  in  the  Apostles.  The  power  may  be  ex- 
actly the  same  ;  but  there  is  not  now  the  same  discretion 
to  regulate  its  use.  Let  me  give  an  illustration,  which 
may  simplify  the  idea  to  some  minds.  A  rich  man 
leaves  a  large  sum  of  money  in  the  hands  of  trustees, 
directing  that  they  shall  use  it  for  the  relief  of  distress, 
and  giving  them  powers  to  fill  up  vacancies  in  their  body, 
when  such  arise.  The  original  trustees  are  men  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  charities,  who  know  that  every 
petitioner  for  relief  is  not  really  a  deserving  object  of  it, 
and  to  whom  long  experience  among  the  poor  has  given 
a  sagacity  which  seldom  errs  or  fails.  By  and  by,  how- 
ever, the  trustees  are  replaced  by  others,  who  have  no 
knowledge  of  the  world  and  its  ways,  and  are  apt  to  be 
imposed  upon  by  the  first  tale  of  distress.  Now  to  these 
latter  trustees  it  would  be  right  and  necessary  to  say : 
"  You  must  be  exceedingly  cautious  in  the  administra- 
tion of  this  bequest,  lest  you  should  do  more  harm  than 
good,  contravene  the  testator's  intention,  and,  instead  of 
relieving  distress,  encourage  indolence  and  dependence, 
and  so  multiply  pauperism.     Indeed,  might  it  not   be 


200  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  [paet 

well  for  you  scarcely  ever  to  give  to  individuals,  but 
rather  to  administer  the  relief  indirectly,  yet  not  less 
elHcieutly,  tlirougli  the  medium  of  Hospitals,  Dispen- 
saries, or  Mendicity  Societies?  At  all  events,  let  the 
direct  application  of  your  funds  to  the  individual  be  the 
exception,  not  the  rule." — Now  this  is  the  very  way  (as 
far  as  it  can  be  exhibited  in  a  figure)  in  which  the 
Church  of  England  directs  her  Clergy  to  administer  the 
treasure  of  Absolution,  which  she  believes  to  have  come 
down  to  them,  as  the  purchase  of  the  Master's  Blood. 
The  power  is  fully  and  emphatically  recognized  in  the 
Ordination  Service,  in  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer, 
and  in  the  Communion  Service.  But  the  usual  forms,  in 
which  it  is  exercised,  are  public ;  because  here  the  ex- 
ercise is  safe  and  guarded.  The  absolution  is  declared 
to  be  for  those  only  who  repent  and  believe,  and  with 
this  proviso  is  flung  abroad  on  the  Congregation  at  large, 
to  find  those  whom  it  ought  to  find.  As  for  private 
and  individual  Absolutions,  without  saying  they 
are  never  to  be  pronounced,  the  English  Church  is  ju- 
diciously chary  of  them.  The  circumstances  under 
which  they  may  be  sought  are  indicated  as  exceptional, 
not  normal.  If  any  man  cannot  quiet  his  own  conscience 
before  coming  to  the  Holy  Communion,  he  is  directed  to 
come  to  some  "  discreet  and  learned  Minister  of  God's 
Word,  and  open  his  grief ;  that  by  the  ministry  of  God's 
holy  Word  he  may  receive  the  benefit  of  Absolution." 
And,  again,  if  a  dying  man  (a  man  placed  in  front  of 
eternity  cannot  well  be  insincere  in  his  professions)  feel 
his  conscience  ti'oubled  with  afiy  weighty  matter,  the 
English  Prayer  Book  prescribes  that  he  shall  be  moved 
to  make  a  special  Confession  of  his  sins,  "  after  Avhich 
Confession  the  Priest  shall  absolve  him,  if  he  humbly 


III.]  Of  Ministerial  Absohition.  201 

and  heartily  desire  it."  And  even  these  cautious  ad- 
missions of  Private  Absolution  the  compilers  of  our  own 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  have  thought  it  wiser  to  ex- 
punge ;  not  that  they  made  any  doubt  of  the  existence 
of  the  Power  of  Absolution ;  but  that  they  desired  to 
guard  it  jealously  from  abuse,  as  knowing  that  there  is 
not  always  the  discretion  necessary  for  its  right  exercise. 

But  in  order  fully  to  understand  this  power  of  remit- 
ting and  retaining  sins,  as  it  was  conferred  upon  the 
Apostles,  we  must  look  at  it  in  its  exercise  as  w^ell  as  in 
its  bestowal.  St.  Peter,  then,  retained  the  sins  of  Ana- 
nias and  Sapphira,  when  he  denounced  their  hypocrisy, 
and  predicted  their  punishment.  In  this  earliest  exer- 
cise of  the  power,  we  see  the  miraculous  gift  of  discern- 
ing spirits  assisting  the  Apostle  in  the  administration  of 
it.  The  gift  is  no  more  ;  and  temporal  judgments  no 
longer  ratify  the  sentences  of  the  Church ;  but  this 
does  not  affect  her  possession  of  the  power.  Suppose  a 
Christian  Minister  coming  in  a  natural  way  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  some  grievous  sin  in  some  member  of  his  flock, 
and  representing  to  him  faithfully  its  heinousness,  and 
the  impossibility  of  pardon  without  repentance  ;  suppose, 
to  take  a  definite  case,  that  "  perceiving  malice  and 
hatred  to  reign"  between  two  members  of  the  Church, 
he  should  remonstrate  with  them  on  that  state  of  mind, 
and,  as  our  Communion  Office  bids  him,  should  debar 
such  persons  from  the  Lord's  Table  until  he  know  them 
to  be  reconciled, — this  would  be  the  retention  of  sins  in 
its  modern  and  unmiraculous  form,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  judgment  so  passed  (I  am  assuming  it  to 
be  in  all  respects  equitable)  would  be  ratified  from  on 
high. 

The  dealing  of  St.  Peter  with  Simon  Magus  is 
9* 


202  Of  Ministerial  Absolution.  [paet 

another  instance  of  the  retention  of  sins.  The  iniquity 
of  the  sinner's  heart  was  in  this  case  manifest  from  the 
iniquity  of  his  proposal ;  and  St.  Peter  meets  it  by  a 
sharp  rebuke,  holding  out  to  him,  however,  the  hope  of 
God's  forgiveness  on  condition  of  repentance.  Simon, 
overwhelmed  by  the  force  of  the  reproof,  requests  the 
prayers  of  the  Apostles  that  "  none  of  these  things  which 
ye  have  spoken  may  come  upon  me."  There  was  an 
evident  and  just  fear  in  his  mind  that  God  might  ratify 
this  seatence  supernaturally,  as  He  had  done  that  upon 
Ananias  and  Sapphira,  and  also  a  persuasion  that  the 
prayers  of  the  Apostles  might  avail  to  avert  the  con- 
sequences. Pastoral  rebuke,  then,  of  evident  and  ob- 
vious sins,  is  an  exercise  of  the  keys,  and  of  the  power 
of  retention  ; — and  it  is  an  exercise  which  this  age  needs  ; 
for  there  caa-  be  no  doubt  that,  what  with  the  wish  to 
retain  our  congregations  at  all  hazards,  the  fear  of  giv- 
ing offence  and  of  driving  some  into  schism,  and  the 
desire  to  be  personally  well  spoken  of,  ministerial  faith- 
fulness is  at  a  low  ebb  amongst  us,  and  it  seems  as  if 
those  words  had  been  erased  from  our  Commission : 
"  Beprove^  rehuhe,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and  doc- 
trine." 

St.  Paul's  vehement  denunciation  of  Elymas  the  sor- 
cerer, and  the  consequent  infliction  of  blindness  upon 
him,  so  much  resembles  the  transactions  of  St.  Peter 
already  commented  upon,  that  we  need  not  make  it  a 
distinct  subject  of  remark. 

Then  we  come  to  St.  Paul's  excommunication  of  the 
incestuous  Corintliian,  the  delivery  of  him  unto  Satj^n  for 
the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  spirit  might  be  saved 
in  the  day  of  the  Lord,  and  the  retractation  of  that  cen- 
sure, when  it  had  done  its  work  upon  the  offender,  and 


m.]  Of  Ministerial  Absohition.  203 

had  brought  him  to  a  sincere  penitence.  The  passage 
has  such  an  important  bearing  on  our  present  subject, 
being  in  short  the  great  Scriptural  instance  of  the  be- 
stowal of  Absolution,  that  it  must  be  quoted  at  length  ; — 

"•  Sufficient  to  such  a  man  is  this  punishment,  which 
was  inflicted  of  many.  So  that  contrariwise  ye  ought 
rather  to  forgive  him,  and  comfort  him,  lest  perhaps 
such  a  one  should  be  swallowed  up  with  overmuch  sor- 
row.    Wherefore  I  beseech  you  that  ye  would  confirm 

your  love  towards  him To  whom  ye  forgive  any 

thing,  I  forgive  also  :  for  if  I  forgave  any  thing,  to 
whom  I  forgave  it,  for  your  sakes  forgave  I  it  in  the  per- 
son of  Christ ;  lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of  us  ; 
for  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices." 

Lastly,  we  have  the  counsel  of  -St.  James  as  to  the 
course  of  conduct  which  the  sick  member  of  Christ's  flock 
siiould  pursue.  "  Is  any  sick  among  you?  Let  him 
call  for  the  elders  (presbyters)  of  the  Church  ;  and  let 
them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord :  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick, 
and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  ;  and  if  he  have  commit- 
ted siiis^  they  shall  he  forgiven  him  J'  Here  again  the 
miraculous  part  of  the  transaction  is  of  course  peculiar 
to  the  Apostolic  age  :  the  oil  has  been  dropped,  as  being 
the  sign  of  an  extraordinary  cure  now  no  longer  vouch- 
safed ;  but  the  prayer  of  faith  offered  by  the  bedside  of 
the  sick  forms  still  a  part  of  our  Ministry  [see  the 
Order  for  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick]  ;  and  who  shall  say 
it  is  ineffective  for  spiritual  healing  in  the  face  of  those 
words,  "  If  he  have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  for- 
given him ; "  in  the  face  of  those  still  more  solemn 
words  of  the  text,  which  confer  the  power  of  Absolution, 
"  Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto 


204  Of  Ministerial  Absolution,  [paet 

them ;    and  whose  soever   sins   ye  retain,  they   are    re- 
tained?" 

The  whole  Ministry  of  the  Apostles  was  interwoven 
with  miracles,  and  so  far  exceptional ;  yet  no  one  will 
maintain  that  the  Ministry  of  the  Apostles  died  with 
them,  though  its  temporary  attributes  may  have  done  so. 
The  power  of  Absolution  then,  which  emanates  from  the 
Ministry,  cannot  so  have  died,  the  exercise  of  it  being 
fully  as  much  needed  now  as  it  was  in  the  primitive 
days. 

Yet  it  must  be  observed  that,  in  the  exercise  by  the 
Apostles  of  the  power  of  remitting  and  retaining  sins, 
there  is  no  trace  whatsoever  of  the  form  which  the 
Roman  Church  has  given  to  Absolution.  There  is  not 
the  smallest  vestige  of  a  practice  of  habitual  confession 
to  the  Apostles  by  the  members  of  their  Churches,  or  of 
a  formal  absolution  by  them.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
attempt  on  tlieir  part  to  usurp  any  judicial  power  over  the 
human  conscience  ;  so  far  from  it,  that  St.  Peter's  coun- 
sel to  Simon  Magus  is  (not,  "Come  to  me  for  absolu- 
tion," but)  "  Repent  of  this  thy  wickedness,  and  ijray 
God^  if  perhaps  the  thought  of  thine  heart  may  be  for- 
given thee." 

The  elders,  says  St.  James,  are  to  pray  over  the  sick 
man,  that  his  sins  may  be  forgiven.  Why  to  pray,  un- 
less in  acknowledgment  that  the  forgiveness  merely 
passed  through  them  as  channels,  did  not  (and  could  not) 
originate  with  them, — that,  in  the  absolute  and  judicial 
sense,  " none  can  forgive  sins  but  God  only?"  That 
men  can  act  otherwise  than  ministerially  in  remitting  gins 
is  a  doctrine  as  contrary  to  Holy  Scripture  as  it  is  to 
Reason  and  the  teaching  of  the  early  Fathers.     And  to 


m.]  Of  Ilinisterial  Absolution.  205 

attribute  to  the  Christian  Minister  the  power  of  Absolu- 
tion (when  thus  understood)  is  not  more  arrogant  than 
to  attribute  other  spiritual  cifeets  to  his  Ministry.  No 
one  denies  the  spiritual  effect  of  God's  preached  Word 
upon  the  conscience,  nor  the  spiritual  effect  of  Sacra- 
ments, where  duly  administered  and  duly  received,  in 
strengthening  and  refreshing  the  soul.  Yet  these  spirit- 
ual effects  are  in  no  wise  due  to  the  Minister,  except  as 
a  medium :  he  cannot,  except  as  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  God's  Spirit,  touch  a  single  conscience  or  com- 
fort a  siugle  soul.  The  utmost  that  can  be  said  of  him 
is  that  ordinarily  (not  that  God  is  bound  to  any  means, 
or  that  He  does  not  frequently  show  Himself  to  be  in- 
dependent of  all  means)  God  administers  through  His 
ordained  servants  the  stores  of  His  treasury  of  Grace. 
Why  not  also  the  stores  of  His  treasury  of  Forgiveness  ? 
God  often  converts  souls,  and  edifies  them,  without 
any  human  instrumentality  at  all.  Some  dealing  of  His 
Providence,  some  passage  of  His  Word,  arrests  the  con- 
science of  the  sinner  and  awakens  it  to  righteousness  and 
repentance.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  free  as  the  wind,  which 
is  His  great  emblem  in  nature,  and  bloweth  where  He 
listeth,  apart  from  the  instrumentality  which  He  Himself 
hath  ordained.  And  similarly  God  can  (and  doubtless 
does)  forgive  sinners  independently  of  His  Church,  speak- 
ing peace  to  many  a  conscience  on  the  moment  of  its 
coming  to  Christ.  Yet  it  appears  to  be  no  less  true  that 
God  has  ordained  an  instrumentality  in  the  earth,  wliich 
He  dehghts  to  bless  and  honour ;  and  that  this  instru- 
mentality is  the  ordinary  vehicle,  through  which  mercy 
and  other  spiritual  blessings  reach  us.  O  let  us  seek  at 
His  hand  that  sound  judgment  which  fairly  balances,  and 
gives  its  due  weight  to,  every  testimony  of  His  Word,  and 


'2i0^  Forms  in  which  the  Protestant  Ej)iccojpal  [paet     ' 

that  simplicity  and  honesty  of  mind  which  seeks  not  the 
establishment  of  preconceived  views,  but  Truth,  and 
Truth  only. 


LECTURE   V. 

OF   THE   FORMS    IN  TTHICH    THE    PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH   IN   AMERICA  DISPENSES    ABSOLUTION. 

"  W\)m  '^t  !jnU  saiti  t!)is,  %}t  l)rcnt|)ctr  on  tfjcm,  antr  saitf)  unto 
tl)0nr,  J^ectibc  $e  t\)t  ?!1}oIm  CSijost :  tofjose  sotbev  sins  £e  i*emit, 
tt^es  are  remittctr  unto  tijcni;  antj  toljose  soebcr  ^ins^t  retain, 
tt)tg  a);e  retaineu*** — John  xx.  22, 23. 

The  question  whether  the  power  of  Absolution  still 
resides  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Church  will  be  found  very 
much  to  resolve  itself  into  the  prior  question,  Whether 
there  is  an  ordained  Ministry  of  the  Church  at  all  ?  If  a 
man  chooses  to  deny  that  God  hath  committed  to  human 
Ministers  the  w^ord  of  reconciliation  ;  if,  while  he  believes 
in  Christianity,  he  disbelieves,  as  many  do,  in  the  Chris- 
tian Society  or  Church,  and  resents  altogether  human 
intervention  between  God  and  the  individual  conscience, 
he  may  be  easily  confuted  from  Holy  Scripture  ;  but  the 
confutation  of  him  is  not  our  present  business.  But  if  a 
man  admits  (as  it  is  presumed  all  of  us  are  disposed  to 
admit)  that  there  is  an  ordained  Ministry,  and  that  this 
Ministry  is  the  usual,  though  not  the  exclusive,  channel 
through  which  God  conveys  spiritual  blessings,  then  he 
grants  implicitly  the  power  of  Absolution  as  inherent  in 
that  Ministry.  No  one  (at  least  no  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Churches)  imagines  that  any  man,  whatever  his 
ecclesiastical  position,  can  forgive  sins  absolutely,  and  as 


m.]  Church  in  America  Dispenses  Absolution.  207 

a  matter  of  his  own  arbitrament.  Even  the  Apostles 
themselves  never  claimed  to  do  this.  He  only  can  for- 
give in  this  manner,  against  whom  the  offence  is  com- 
mitted ;  and  as  God  is  the  Person  who  in  all  sin  (even 
in  that  against  our  neighbour)  is  aggrieved,  none  but  He 
caQ  forgive  in  the  absolute  and  judicial  sense  of  the 
word.  But  if  God  dispenses  forgiveness  through  certain 
human  instruments,  those  instruments  have  derivatively 
the  power  of  Absolution.  And  can  this  method  of  dis- 
pensing forgiveness  be  denied?  If  a  person  burdened 
with  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  in  a  state  of  mental  depression, 
should  stray  into  a  Church,  and  there  hear  the  message 
of  free  forgiveness  and  grace  through  Christ  fully  and 
faithfully  set  forth  from  the  pulpit ;  if  it  should  there  be 
pointed  out  to  him  that  what  the  heavy-laden  conscience 
has  to  do  is  not  to  qualify  itself  for  acceptance  with  God, 
but  simply  come  to  Christ,  and  embrace  that  acceptance 
which  is  already  purchased  by  His  Blood  and  Merit ; 
and  if  pn  hearing  this  glad  tidings,  he  goes  away  light- 
ened and  relieved,  having  found  that  joy  and  peace  in 
believing,  which  are  among  the  first-fruits  of  the  Spirit, — 
what  is  this  but  God's  dispensation  of  forgiveness  to  that 
man  by  the  mouth  of  the  Minister?  It  may  not  be  tech- 
nically called  Absolution  ;  but  surely  it  is  Absolution  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  ;  it  is  as  if  the  Minister,  in  the 
Name  and  by  the  authority  of  His  Master,  had  said  to  that 
soul,  "  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee  ;"  "  The  Lord  hath  put 
away  thy  sin,  thou  shalt  not  die." — Suppose  ianother 
hearer,  conscious  of  still  cleaving  in  his  intention  to  some 
course  which  both  Scripture  and  the  moral  sense  con- 
demn, to  receive  from  the  pulpit  the  equally  true  mcs-" 
sage  that,  whatever  flatteries  the  deceitful  heart  may 
practise  upon  us,  there  is  no  salvation  for  sinners  ob-j 


208  Forms  in  which  the  Protestant  JEpiscopal  [pakt 

stiuately  holding  by  their  sins  ;  and  after  receiving  it,  to 
go  down  to  his  house  heavy  and  displeased,  unable  any 
longer  to  lay  to  his  soul  the  flattering  unction  that  his 
good  impressions  or  his  religious  ordinances  make  him 
safe  ;  what  is  this  but  the  binding  of  his  sins  on  the  man's 
conscience,  the  retention  of  his  sins  so  far  as  man  can 
retain  them,  that  is,  the  declaration  that  they  are  retained 
upon  a  certain  moral  condition? 

Again :  Baptism  is  said  expressly  to  be  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins  :  "  Arise,  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away 
thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord."  "  Repent, 
and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  fo7'  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  an  ordained  vehicle  of 
remission  ;  and  the  administration  of  it  (like  that  of  the 
other  Sacrament)  is  lodged  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
inherit  the  charge  given  to  the  Apostles  :  "  Go  ye  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  If,  then,  a  Christian  Mis- 
sionary, after  long  instruction  and  probation  of  a  Catechu- 
men, has  satisfied  himself  of  that  person's  fitness  for  Bap- 
tism, and  administers  to  him  this  holy  Sacrament,  is  not 
this  a  virtual  absolution  of  the  person  who  receives  the 
Rite, — an  absolution  which  is  conveyed  under  the  ex- 
press commission  and  authority  of  the  great  Shepherd 
and  Bishop  of  souls  ?  And  if,  on  the  other  hand,  such  a 
missionary  should  with  good  reason  pronounce  the 
Catechumen  at  present  unfit  for  the  Sacrament,  should 
discover  in  him  conduct  which  impeaches  the  sincerity 
of  his  motive  in  seeking  for  Baptism,  or  should  think 


ni.]  Church  in  America  Disjoenses  Absolution,  209 

him  too  ismorant  of  fundamental  truths  to  be  thus  in- 
itiated  into  the  School  of  Christ,  and  under  this  impres- 
sion should  say,  •'  I  suspend  your  Baptism  for  the 
present;^' — few  persons,  I  apprehend,  would  question 
his  right  and  authority  to  act  thus,  while  many,  perhaps, 
would  fail  to  see  what  is  involved  in  the  action.  Surely 
such  a  suspension  amounts  to  a  retention  of  sins.  For 
if  St.  Paul's  sins,  even  after  his  conversion,  could  not  be 
washed  away,  as  he  was  informed,  but  by  Baptism,  how 
much  less  can  we  think  that  the  sins  of  ordinary  persons, 
whose  religious  impressions  are  much  weaker  than  St. 
Paul's,  can  be  otherwise  washed  away?  To  withhold 
Baptism,  then,  is  to  withhold  the  ordained  vehicle  of  re- 
mission, and  so  virtually  to  retain  sins. — Yet,  in  the 
exercise  of  the  above  functions,  no  one  regards  the  min- 
ister as  being  more  than  a  minister.  The  Grace  of 
Sacraments,  and  the  Grace  which  makes  the  Word  of 
God  effective  for  the  relief  of  the  conscience,  is  from 
God,  and  from  God  alone.  The  minister  can  do  no 
more  than  negotiate  the  outward  part ;  that  is,  preach 
the  word  faithfully  to  the  ear,  or  administer  rightly  and 
duly  the  Sacrament.  The  Holy  Ghost  alone  can  com- 
municate with  the  conscience  and  inner  man ;  the  min- 
ister, as  in  the  Word,  so  in  the  Sacraments,  is  but  the 
Holy  Ghost's  instrument  for  reaching  the  inner  man. 

The  sum  of  what  has  been  said  is,  that,  if  there  is  an 
ordained  Ministry  at  all,  the  remission  of  sins  must 
transpire,  like  a  fragrant  odour,  from  the  exercise  of  every 
part  of  it ;  must  transpire  even  when  not  formally  an- 
nounced, from  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  and  the  min- 
istration of  the  Sacraments  ;  and  from  simply  not  exercis- 
ing the  Ministry,  retention  of  sins  must  follow. 


210  Forms  in  which  the  Protestant  Episcopal  [paet 

But  it  may  be  asked,  "  May  not  the  power  of  Ab- 
solution be  exercised  alone,  independently  of  any  other 
Ordinance  of  the  Church  ?  "  No  doubt  it  may.  Pro- 
vision is  made  in  our  Church  for  such  an  independent 
exercise  of  the  power.  And  it  is  exercised  in  two  forms, 
by  way  of  authoritative  declaration,  and  by  way  of  in- 
tercession,— the  latter  of  which  is  now  more  immediately 
before  us,  but  of  both  of  which  v/e  will  now  say  a  word. 

I.  First,  in  the  Daily  Service,  the  General  Confes- 
sion is  immediately  succeeded  by  "  the  Declaration  of 
Absolution  or  Remission  of  sins,  to  be  made  by  the 
Priest  alone,  standing  ;  the  people  still  kneeling." 

The  analysis  of  this  formulary  may  be  given  in  very 
few  words.  First,  the  Divine  warrant,  which  the  Min- 
ister has  for  making  this  solemn  declaration,  is  exhibited 
to  the  people,  as  the  ground  of  what  is  to  follow  :  "  Al- 
mighty God hath  given  power  and  commandment 

to  Ilis  Ministers,  to  declare  and  pronounce  to  His  people, 
being  penitent,  the  Absolution  and  Remission  of  their 
sins."  The  otiicial  proclamation  is  then  made  that  God 
forgives  all  who  are  penitent  and  believing :  "  Pie  par- 
doneth  and  absolveth  all  them  that  truly  repent,  and  un- 
feignedly  believe  His  Holy  Gospel."  The  Congregation 
there  present  are  then  exhorted  to  pray  that  they  them- 
selves may  come  under  the  terms  of  the  Divine  Pardon, 
so  that  the  Service  now  in  performance  may  be  accept- 
able, the  life  which  shall  succeed  it  pure  and  holy,  and 
the  end  of  all,  the  joy  of  Our  Lord :  "  Wherefore  let  us 
beseech  Him  to  grant  us  true  repentance,  that  those 
things  may  please  Him,  which  we  do  at  this  present ; 
and  that  the  rest  of  our  life  hereafter  may  be  pure  and 
holy ;  so  that  at  the  last  we  may  come  to  His  eternal 

joy." 


m.]  Church  in  America  Dispenses  Ahsolxdion,  211 

It  may  be  said  this  is  merely  a  declaration  that  God 
pardons  us,  on  condition  of  our  being  rcpent&nt  and  be- 
lieving, and  a  declaration  which  aay  one  is  at  liberty  to 
make.  And  of  course  it  cannot  be  disputed  either  that 
truth  is  truth,  whoever  speaks  it,  or  that,  in  the  inter- 
course of  private  life,  any  true  disciple  of  Christ,  without 
being  an  ordained  Minister,  might  raise  the  drooping 
spirit  of  another,  by  pointing  Him  to  those  evangelical 
pronaises,  wiiich  assure  pardon  to  the  penitent  and  be- 
lieving, and  which  the  faithfulness  of  God  stands  en- 
gaged to  fulfil.  But  if  to  the  ordained  Minister,  and  to 
him  alone,  is  committed  the  word  of  Reconciliation,  the 
Minister  alone  can  proclaim  with  autliority  the  message 
of  Reconciliation.  (Others  may  tell  it ;  may  point  it  out 
in  the  Scriptures  ;  he  alone  can  declare  it  under  the  war- 
rant and  seal  of  the  Most  High.)  It  is  one  thing  that 
the  news  of  an  amnesty,  granted  by  a  Sovereign  to  a 
rebellious  but  subdued  province,  should  be  blazed  abroad 
among  the  people,  find  its  way  into  public  journals,  and 
become  the  subject  of  general  conversation,  and  mutual 
congratulation, — and  quite  another  that  the  ambassador 
should  come  into  the  market-place  in  his  robes  of  state, 
and  there,  producing  his  credentials  with  the  royal  seal 
affixed,  should  read  the  terms  of  the  amnesty.  The 
message  may  have  reached  the  citizens  through  other 
channels  ;  but  the  ambassador's  appearance  is  a  comfort- 
able assurance  of  its  reality.  Now  the  Christian  Min- 
ister is  the  ambassador  of  Christ,  according  to  those 
words  of  St.  Paul :  "  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for 
Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us."  In  the 
face  of  the  assembled  Church,  in  the  theatre  of  Christian 
ministrations,  he  appears  publicly  as  His  ambassador. 
His  announcement  under  those  cirqumstances  of  God's 


212  Forms  m  which  the  Protestant  Episcopal  [paet 

message  of  forgiveness  is  no  ordinary  one,  although  long 
habit  and  familiarity  with  the  words  in  which  it  is  couch- 
ed, may  have  blinded  us  to  the  dignity  of  the  transaction. 
He  is  for  the  time  being  the  King's  Representative,  and 
publishes  the  amnesty  in  his  official  character. 

And  if  any  should  think  lightly  of  a  mere  declaration 
of  God's  forgiveness,  as  if  this  were  to  assign  too  poor 
and  tame  a  meaning  to  the  high-sounding  words,  "  Whose 
soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them,"  let 
him  reflect  that  the  Absolutions,  which  Our  Lord  admin- 
istered while  upon  earth,  were  nothing  but  declarations 
of  God's  pardon,  though  founded  (in  His  case)  on  His 
infallible  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  individual.  Christ 
Himself  (though  of  course  He  might  have  done  so,  had 
He  chosen  to  stand  upon  the  prerogative  of  His  Divine 
Nature)  never  at  any  time  said,  "  I  absolve  thee." 
''  When  He  saw  their  faith.  He  said  unto  the  sick  of  the 
palsy.  Son,  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee  "  ("  have  been,  and 
are,  forgiven  thee,"  would  be  the  exact  rendering  of  the 
tense  in  our  modern  English ;  it  is  a  past  transaction, 
continuing  in  its  results,  which  is  announced).  And  ob- 
serve that  the  power  thus  exercised  by  the  Son  of  Man, 
although  exercised  iu  the  form  of  a  declaration,  is  de- 
scribed by  Himself  in  the  immediately  succeeding  con- 
text as  being  ''  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins." — Again, 
"Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven;  for"  (the 
token  and  evidence  of  which  is  that)  "  she  loved  much ; 
but  to  whom  little  is  forgiven,  the  same  loveth  little." 

Now  I  suppose  there  is  not  one  of  us,  whose  heart 
would  not  leap  for  joy  to  hear  such  a  declaration,  though 
nothing  more  than  a  declaration,  made  respecting  our- 
selves by  Christ  Our  Lord.  And  why?  Because  of  the 
infinite  dignity  of  His  Person ; — ^because  we  know  and 


in.]  CJmrch  in  America  Dispenses  Absolution,  213 

feel  that  to  Him  all  authority  is  given  in  heaven  and 
earth,  and  that  His  every  word  must  stand.  Now  let  us 
ifPio  the  reflection,  that  of  this  authority  to  declare 
God's  pardon  of  the  penitent.  He  hath  condescended  to 
impart  a  certain  share  to  His  ministering  servants  ;  and 
that  though  He  does  not  ndw  give  them,  as  He  once  did, 
the  miraculous  power  of  intuition  into  moral  character, 
and  by  withholding  this  power  signifies  His  will  (as  was 
pointed  out  in  the  last  Lecture)  that  they  should  be  very 
cautious  in  administering  Absolution  to  individuals,  and 
for  the  most  part  abstain  from  doing  so  altogether  ;  yet 
the  authority  to  declare  forgiveness  under  the  Divine 
warrant  is  still  theirs  ;  the  declaration  beins;  now  general 
to  all  who  come  under  the  terms,  without  any  pretence 
to  an  insight  as  to  who  these  may  be. 

And  now  one  word  as  to  the  practical  value  which, 
this  declaratory  Absolution  of  the  Morning  and  Evening 
Service  may  have,  and  ought  to  have.  In  various  ways, 
different  schools  of  religionists  seek  for,  and  profess  to 
find,  an  assurance  of  their  forgiveness  and  acceptance 
with  God.  Some  represent  assurance  as  being  involved 
in  all  genuine  or  saving  faith,  so  that  without  assurance 
we  have  no  hold  whatever  upon  God's  mercy  through 
Christ.  Others,  of  sounder  judgment,  think  it  a  privi- 
lege extended  by  God  to  a  few,  and  the  recompense  per- 
haps of  their  faithfulness.  All  would  gladly  welcome  it, 
if  they  felt  they  could  have  it  in  God's  way,  without 
false  confidence  or  presumption.  Some  profess  to  have 
found  assurance  in  certain  passages  of  Scripture,  borne 
in  upon  their  mind  when  in  a  state  of  religious  suscep- 
tibility. Some  have  made  a  Scripture  to  themselves  out 
of  their  own  sanguine  and  presumptuous  temperament, 
and  have  found  in  ecstasies  and  raptures  of  feeling  God's 


214  Forms  in  which  the  Protestcmt  Ejpiscojpal  [part 

token  upon  them  for  good.  But  it  will  be  safe  at  all 
events,  and  to  humble  souls  it  may  be  no  less  consolatory 
than  safe,  to  seek  our  assurance  in  some  token  of  Divine 
appointment.  As  to  the  simpler  operations  of  our 
own  minds  on  religious  subjects — whether  we  with  all 
earnestness  cast  sin  behind  our  back,  and  rely  simply  on 
Christ  for  the  expiation  of  it — we  cannot  be  much  at 
fault,  if  the  mind  is  in  a  healthy  state.  Then,  without 
any  self-tormenting  analysis  of  our  motives,  let  us  draw 
near  to  the  House  of  God,  where  morning  and  evening 
the  golden  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  are  exhibited 
for  the  consolation  of  penitent  sinners.  Let  us  listen  in- 
tently to  the  message  of  God's  pardon,  pronounced  by 
the  lips  of  His  commissioned  ambassador.  Let  us  take 
it  to  ourselves  ;  if  we  be  penitent  and  believing,  it  is 
ours.  It  is  sent  to  us  in  the  way  of  God's  Ordinances, — 
a  token  upon  us  for  good,  surer  than  frames  and  feel- 
ings, which  fluctuate,  and  better  authorized  by  far  than 
fanciful  applications  of  Scripture  to  our  own  case.  I 
doubt  whether  any  assurance,  which  it  is  possible  to  ob- 
tain upon  earth,  will  rest  upon  a  much  better  foundation 
than  that  obtained  in  this  way. 

H.  But  it  may  be  asked  whether  Absolution  is  simply 
declarative ;  whether  it  does  nothing  more  than  assure 
us,  under  God's  commission,  of  a  forgiveness  which  has 
been  already  granted  by  Him.  Does  it,  it  may  be  asked, 
effect  nothing,  but  simply  indicate  what  has  been  ef- 
fected? The  answer  is  given  by  the  higher  form  of  Ab- 
solution, which  is  now  before  us  in  the  Communion 
Office,  ''  and  an  option  of  using  which  is  given  in  the 
Morning  and  Evening  Prayer."  This- higher  form,  it 
will  be  observed,  is  a  Prayer  by  the  Priest  on  behalf  of 
the  people.     His  office,  like  the  statue  of  Janus,  has  two 


m.]  Church  in  America  Dispenses  Absolution.  215 

faces,'  and  looks  in  two  directions.  When  announcing 
God's  Will  (and  tlie  terms  of  forgiveness  and  acceptance 
are  tlie  most  important  part  of  His  Will)  he  looks  tow- 
ards the  people.  But  he  is  also  set  to  be  an  interces- 
sor,— to  sum  up  and  present  their  wants  before  the 
Throne  of  Grace.  And  in  this  higher  character  ex- 
clusively we  see  him  in  the  Communion  Office,  his  face 
turned  ^  towards  the  Lord,  supplicating  pardon,  and  all 
the  glorious  blessings  which  follow  in  the  train  of  par- 
don, for  his  flock.  Now  nothing  can  be  more  certain  than 
this,  that  prayer  is  effective, — that  in  some  mysterious 
manner,  which  we  are  totally  incapable  of  understanding, 
it  influences  the  Will  of  God.  ''  The  eflectual  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much."  Moreover, 
we  find  intercessory  prayer,  offered  by  the  chosen  ser- 
vants and  messengers  of  the  Most  High,  recognized,  both 
in  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  as  efficacious  for  those 
in  whose  behalf  it  is  offered.  Says  God  to  Abimelech 
respecting  Abraham :  "  He  is  a  prophet,  and  he  shall 
pray  for  thee,  and  thou  shalt  live."  And  again  to  Job's 
friends,  respecting  Job  ;  "  Go  to  My  servant  Job  ;  and 
My  servant  Job  shall  pray  for  you ;  for  him  will  I  ac- 
cept." And  again  we  find  Samuel  recognizing  it  as  part 
of  his  bounden  duty  to  pray  for  the  people  :  "  Moreover, 
as  for  me,  God  forbid  that  I  should  sin  against  the  Lord 
in  ceasing  to  pray  for  you."  Again,  we  have  the  notable 
instance  of  Elijah's  intercession,  which,  as  St.  James  in- 
forms us,  availed  first  to  close,  and  then  to  open,  the 
windoAvs  of  heaven.     And  again  in  the  New  Testament : 

^  I  mean,  menially.  The  Rubric  before  this  Prayer  of  Absolution 
directs  that  {as  to  bodily  posture)  the  Priest  shall  turn  to  the  People^ 
when  he  says  it.  But  in  all  Pl-ayer  God  is  addressed ;  and  the  peti- 
tioner looks  to  Him  mentally. 


216  Forms  in  which  tJie  Protestant  Ej^isco^al  [paet 

"Is  any  sick  among  yon?  Let  him  call  for  the  -felders 
of  the  Church ;  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing 
him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  :  and  the  prayer  of 
faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
np  ;  and  if  he  have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven 
him.  Confess  your  faults  one  to  another,  and  fray  one 
for  anotlier^that  ye  may  he  Jiealed."  And  in  how  very 
large  a  majority  of  his  Epistles  does  St.  Paul  assure  his 
converts  of  his  prayers  for  them,  in  the  most  forcible  and 
emphatic  mann^ ! — Their  names  are  written  on  his 
heart,  he  intimates,  as  were  the  names  of  the  literal 
Israel  on  the  high  priest's  breastplate,  and  he  is  contin- 
ually joresenting  them  before  God. 

Now  the  intercessory  part  of  the  ministerial  office, 
whereby  the  faithful  pastor  procures  for  his  flock  mercy 
and  other  spiritual  blessings,  is  brought  out  in  this  pre- 
catory Absolution  of  the  Communion  Office.  And  you 
will  observe  how  perfect  the  form  is,  and  how  much  of 
wholesome  doctrine  underlies  its  simple  phraseology ; 
how  it  recognizes  forgiveness  and  acceptance  as  being 
not  the  ultimate  achievement  of  holiness,  but  the  very 
first  steps  towards  it ;  how  it  represents  sanctification  as 
being  progressive,  and  grace  as  eventually  merging  into 

glory:   "Almighty  God,  our   heavenly  Father, 

have  mercy  upon  you,  and  pardon  you"  (this  must  be 
done,  first,  before  sin's  power  can  be  broken;  broken 
however  it  must  be,  for  the  prayer  proceeds),  "  pardon 
and  deliver  you  from  all  your  sins  ;  confirm  and  strength- 
en you  in  all  goodness  "  (not  suffer  you  to  rest  in  weak 
beginnings,  or  to  count  yourself  to  have  apprehended, 
Avhen  your  race  is  only  just  begun),  "  and  bring  you  to 
everlasting  life  "  (that  is,  finislvthe  good  work  which  He 
has  begun  in  you),  "  through  Jesus  Christ  Our  Lord." 


m , ]  Ch urch  in  Am er ica  Disjpcn ses  A hsohi tion .  217 

The  AbsolutioDS  found  in  the  Primitive  Liturgies  run 
always  in  the  form  of  Prayer  or  Benediction ;  and  in 
some  of  them  there  was  a  reciprocal  prayer  for  the  priest 
by  the  people  and  for  the  people  by  the  priest,  which 
formed  a  most  interesting  feature  of  the  Service,  and 
"which  is  nowhere  represented  in  our  Liturgy  except  by 
the  mutual  salutation,  "  The  Lord  be  with  you,"  "  And 
with  thy  Spirit."  "While  we  are  convinced,  not  only  of 
the  sufficiency,  but  of  the  excellence,  of  our  Offices  as 
they  stand,  we  rather  regret  the  loss  of  this  expression 
of  sympathy  and  mutual  interest  between  the  Pastor  and 
his  flock.  It  is,  however,  a  loss  w^hich  can  easily  be  re- 
paired in  private.  Let  not  the  minister  limit  his  inter- 
cessions for  his  flock  to  the  utterance  of  the  prescribed 
form  (though  this  will  be  the  flower  and  crown  of  them), 
but  let  him  carry  those  intercessions  with  him  into  his 
closet,  and  urge  them  there  wiih  that  fervour  and  per- 
severance which  takes  no  refusal  at  God's  hand  ;  and  let 
h's  flock  do  the  same  for  him,  and  seek  to  help  him  at 
the  Throne  of  Grace  in  bearing  the  bSrden  of  liis  trials, 
and  discharging  himself  of  his  responsibilities  ;  and  then 
the  spirit  of  the  old  reciprocal  Absolutions  would  be  pre- 
served, even  while  the  letter  of  them  is  dropped  ;  and  we 
should  soon  see  a  more  efficient  discharge  of  the  ministry, 
arising  from  an  increased  desire  on  the  part  of  the  laity 
to  co-operate  with  their  ministers  in  Christian  objects, 
and  a  more  primitive  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  souls  in 
those  Avho  wait  at  the  Altar. 

And  when  we  speak  of  intercession  as  available  in 
behalf  of  one  another — whetlier  it  be  the  personal  inter- 
cession of  friends  for  friends,  or  the  official  intercession 
of  the  pastor  for  his  flock — let  us  never  forget  that,  in- 
dependently of  and  apart  from  the  prayer  of  the  great 
10 


218  Of  the  Four  Comfortable  Words,      [paut 

High  Priest  for  us  all,  no  prayer  of  man  can  have  any 
efficacy  whatsoever.  It  is  only  as  united  with  His  Inter- 
cession, it  is  only  as  taking  its  stand  upon  His  finished 
and  meritorious  Avork,  that  any  prayer,  whether  for  our- 
selves or  others,  can  receive  an  answer,  or  even  gain  a 
hearing.  And  the  intercessory  Absolution  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking  is  only  an  earthly  and  dim  echo  of 
that  prayer  for  His  people,  which  Christ  is  offering  in 
Heaven,  and  which,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Econ- 
omy of  Grace,  takes  up  and  absorbs  into  itself,  and  com- 
municates its  own  virtue  to,  the  supplications,  prayers, 
intercessions,  which  His  Church  below  makes  for  all 
men. 


LECTURE    VI. 

OF   THE^OUR   COMFORTABLE   WORDS. 

"  %tX  US  litato  iteari:  ....  in  full  assurance  of  faitl)/* — 
Hebrews  x.,  part  of  ver.  22. 

The  fifteen  Psalms  which  immediately  succeed  the 
119th,  are  called  Songs  of  Degrees,  or  Songs  of  the  Steps. 
One  explanation  given  of  the  term  is  that  these  Psalms  were 
sung  by  theLevites,  one  upon  each  of  the  fifteen  steps  which 
led  from  the  court  of  the  women  to  that  of  the  men  in 
the  Jewish  Temple.  We  have  compared  the  Communion 
Office  to  a  venerable  Cathedral,  having  its  outer  precinct, 
by  which  it  is  approached,  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  Collect 
for  Purity,  and  Decalogue  (which  introductory  parts  of 
the  Office   speak  of  preparation  and  self-examination), 


ra.]  Of  the  Four  Comfortahle  Words.  219 

and  its  Sanctuary  or  Choir  in  that  more  solemn  period  of 
the  Service  which  begins  with  the  Tersanctus,  and  upon 
which  we  hope  to  enter  in  our  next  Lecture.  The 
*'  Comfortable  Words  "  from  the  mouth  of  our  Saviour 
Christ,  of  St.  Paul,  and  of  St.  John,  are  our  Christian 
songs  of  the  steps,  which  we  sing  as  we  pass  from  the 
Transept  into  the  Choir,  to  join  in  the  full  burst  of  ado- 
ration which  awaits  us  there. 

Yes ;  we  are  about  to  join  with  Angels  and  Arch- 
angels, and  all  the  company  of  Heaven,  in  singing  the 
high  praise  of  God.  But  this  it  is  impossible  we  should 
do  with  a  heart  full  of  doubts  and  misgivings.  An  un- 
easy conscience,  and  a  mind  that  wavers  as  to  its  own 
acceptance,  is  not  in  tune  for  praise.  "  It  is  requisite," 
says  the  Invitation,  "  that  no  man  should  come  to  the 
Holy  Communion,  but  with  a  full  trust  in  God's  mercy, 
and  with  a  quiet  conscience."  To  impart  this  full  trust, 
and  to  assure  and  render  quiet  the  conscience,  is  the 
great  object  of  the  Absolution,  and  of  the  Comfortable 
Words  which  follow  it.  Of  the  Absolution  first.  We 
pointed  out  in  our  last  Lecture  that  one  main  object  of 
Absolution,  the  great  practical  value  of  it,  is  the  assur- 
ance of  the  penitent  and  believing  sinner.  We  saw  that 
Absolution  was  ministered  by  our  Blessed  Lord  Himself 
in  the  form  of  an  assurance  :  "  Thy  sins  be  "  (or  are) 
"  forgiven  thee."  Our  minds  naturally  crave  after  this 
assurance,  and  seek  it  sometimes  in  frames  and  feelings, 
which  are  conceived  to  be  the  inward  witness  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  while  really  they  are  the  signs  of  nothing 
more  than  a  sanguine  temperament,  sometimes  in  certain 
texts  of  Scripture,  twisted  from  their  original  connexion 
into  a  fanciful  applicability  to  our  own  circumstances. 
Now  as  against  these  false  methods  of  obtaining  it,  the 


220  Of  the  Four  Comfortable  Words.      [paet 

CliLircli  gives  iis  good  and  solid  grounds  of  assurance. 
God  has  commissioned  His  ministers  officially  to  inter- 
cede for,  and  authoritatively  to  declare,  forgiveness  of 
sins  to  the  penitent  and  believing.  This  ministerial  com- 
missioQ  then  is  the  first  ground  of  assurance  which  the 
Church  here  advances :  the  exercise  of  it  is  the  first 
means  by  which  she  seeks  to  quiet  the  burdened  and 
heavy-laden  conscience.  And  the  thread  of  sentiment 
which  connects  the  Absolution  with  that  which  imme- 
diately fellows  it,  is  very  apparent,  at  least  to  one  w^ho 
will  not  allow  his  familiarity  with  our  services  to  deaden 
his  mind  to  the  significance  of  their  various  parts.  It  is 
as  if  the  Church  said  to  us :  "  You  have  heard  the 
prayer  offered  in  your  behalf  by  God's  accredited  mes- 
senger of  reconciliation,  standing  upon  his  commission, 
and  acting  in  the  Name  of  his  Master ;  now  then,  lest 
any  disquieting  doubts  should  still  remain  upon  your 
conscience,  you  shall  hear  what  is  better  still,  the  words 
of  Our  Saviour  Christ,  and  of  those  Apostleg  who  spoke 
infallibly  by  the  inspiration  of  His  Spirit.  Christ  shall 
assure  you,  Paul  shall  assure  you,  John  shall  assure  you. 
Every  human  minister  has  the  treasure  of  the  Gospel 
message  in  an  earthen  vessel.  He  is  as  full  of  infirmity, 
sin,  and  error,  as  you  are  yourself.  And  though  this 
infirmity  and  unworthiness  does  not  in  the  least  detract 
from  the  efficacy  of  his  ministrations,  which  '  be  effect- 
ual, because  of  Christ's  institution  and  promise,'  yet  the 
miessage  of  mercy  and  peace  conveyed  through  a  purer 
medium,  may  haply  be  more  satisfactory  to  thy  mind. 
It  shall  come  to  thee  then  through  the  purest  of  all 
media,  the  holy  and  infallible  Word  of  God,  the  Word 
which  was  spoken  or  written  with  a  full  foresight  of  thy 
difficulties,  trials,  and   sins,  not   indeed  by  the   human 


ni.]  Of  iha  Four  ComfortaUe  Woixls.  221 

writer,  but  bj  the  Spirit  who  inspired  him.  In  virtue 
of  tliis  perfect  foresight,  thou  mayest  reasonably  expect 
to  find  some  word  in  Holy  Scripture  specially  meeting 
thy  need,  some  word  of  which  thou  mayest  without  pre- 
sumption or  fanaticism  conclude  that  it  was  designed  for 
thee,  and  that  thou  mayest  take  it  to  thyself." 

Now  observe  what  words  are  chosen  from  Holy 
Scripture  for  this  purpose.  They  are  the  broadest  and 
freest  evangelical  declarations  which  it  is  possible  to  find 
in  the  whole  volume,  those  which  combine  the  largest 
amount  of  grace  with  the  least  amount  of  qualification  in 
the  persons  to  whom  they  are  addressed.  To  use  the 
language  of  the  Seventeenth  Article,  they  are  "  the 
promises  of  God  as  they  are  generally  set  forth  in  Holy 
Scripture,"  as  distinct  from  "  the  counsel  of  God,  secret 
to  us,"  the  consideration  of  which  would  only  tend  to 
baffle  and  disturb  weak  consciences.  Let  us  look  some- 
what into  the  particulars  of  them. 

1.  First  comes  Our  Lord's  own  famous  invitation, 
embracing  all  who  labour  and  are  heavy  laden ;  all,  that 
is,  who  in  any  measure  feel  their  sin  to  be  a  burden,  and 
sincerely  desire  deliverance  from  it.  If  we  have  felt  the 
galling  of  a  wounded  conscience,  the  galling  of  a  corrupt 
nature ;  nay,  if  we  have  been  only  pressed  hard  with 
care  and  sorrow,  and  under  this  pressure  truly  turn  to 
Christ  as  the  only  quarter  in  which  peace  and  satisfaction 
is  to  be  had,  we  come  under  the  terms  of  this  promise, 
and  are  at  liberty  at  once  to  accept  it.  This  is  the 
beautiful  song  of  the  first  step ;  and  you  will  observe 
(for  this  observation  will  show  the  excellent  method  in 
which  these  sentences  are  arranged)  that  this  first  sen- 
tence carries  us  no  further  back  than  to  Our  Lord  Him- 
self: "Come  unto  Me  .  .  .  and  I  will  give."     To  use 


222  Of  the  Four  Comfortable  Words.       \vkrt 

His  own  image,  this  is  the  call  of  the  mother  bird  to  the 
stray  chickens,  whereby  she  invites  them  to  gather  them- 
selves under  her  wings,  to  be  shielded  by  her  from  dan- 
ger, and  to  be  cherished  with  the  vital  heat  which  resides 
in  her  body.  Not  the  children  of  Jerusalem  only,  but 
sheep,  which  are  not  of  that  fold,  shall  assuredly  feel  the 
glow  and  warmth  of  consolation,  if  at  the  sound  of  His 
Voice  they  will  but  betake  themselves  to  that  refuge. 

2.  Our  Lord,  however,  never  allowed  His  disciples 
to  rest  in  Himself.  To  Himself  He  attracted  them  in- 
deed, but  it  was  to  lead  them  on  beyond  Himself  to  the 
Father.  He  represented  Himself  as  the  Way,  the  Door 
(marvellous  condescension !  a  way  and  a  door  being 
nothing  in  themselves,  but  in  reference  to  the  city  or  the 
chamber  to  which  they  lead),  by  which  and  through 
which  alone  access  to  the  Father  is  to  be  had.  And  on 
one  occasion  He  altogether  put  out  of  sight  His  own  in- 
tervention in  behalf  of  His  disciples  (though  that  of 
course  we  know  to  have  been  essential  for  them),  and 
referred  them  to  the  Father's  Love  as  an  independent 
source  of  the  blessings  which  visited  them  :  "  At  that 
day  ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name  :  and  I  say  not  unto  you 
that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you,  for  the  Father  him- 
self loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved  Me,  and  have  be- 
lieved that  I  came  out  from  God." 

So  in  the  second  of  these  admirably  chosen  sentences, 
Christ  takes  us  back  beyond  Christ  to  God,  and  points 
out  to  us  the  Father's  boundless  Love  as  the  origin  of 
^an's  Redemption  :  ''  God  so  lov^ed  the  world,  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  to  the  end  that  all  that  be- 
lieve in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life." 

It  would  seem  as  if  Grace  itself  could  not  go  beyond 


m.]         Of  the  Four  Comfortable  Words.  223 

this  in  its  freedom,  in  its  comprehensiveness,  in  the  sim- 
plicity of  its  requirements.  In  the  first  place,  "  the 
world"  (i.  e.  all  mankind,  and  not  any  narrow  section  of 
it)  is  represented  as  being  the  object  of  God's  Love. 
The  conscience  of  the  sinner,  ingenious  often,  when  in  a 
state  of  awakened  susceptibility,  to  invent  pleas  against 
itself,  cannot  possibly  say,  "  This  word  of  comfort  is  not 
designed  for  me."  K  thou  art  but  a  man  or  a  woman, 
it  i.3  thine  ;  for,  to  use  the  phrase  of  St.  Paul  to  Titus,  it 
is  God's  "  philanthropy  "  (or  love  of  the  human  race) 
which  is  here  announced  by  the  Saviour.  And  to  any 
thoughtful  reader  of  His  words  it  will  at  once  suggest  it- 
self as  a  grand  additional  topic  of  consolation,  that  at  the 
time  when  God  evidenced  His  Love  for  the  world  by  the 
gift  of  His  Son,  the  world  was  in  a  state  of  rebellion. 
It  was  alienated,  and  an  enemy  in  its  mind  by  wicked 
works.  It  lay  in  wickedness  ;  it  was  not  seeking  mercy 
at  God's  hand  ;  it  was  not  prostrate  before  Him  in  pen- 
itence and  humiliation  ;  it  was  defying  Him.  And  no 
sooner  did  His  Son  appear  and  manifest  God's  perfec- 
tions, than  the  world  rose  in  arms  against  Him,  and  did 
what  in  it  lay  to  root  out  the  name  and  the  memory  of 
Him  from  the  earth.  Yet  despite  this  malignant  hostil- 
ity on  the  part  of  the  world,  God's  aspect  towards  it  was 
one  of  Love, — "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son." 

Observe  again  (for  this  is  another  topic  of  rich  con- 
solation) that  what  God  gave  in  evidence  of  His  Love, 
was  the  only  thing  which  could  be  a  sacrifice  to  Him. 
If  it  had  been  possible  that  the  human  soul  should  have 
been  redeemed  by  corruptible  things,  such  as  silver 
and  gold,  that  it  should  have  been  redeemed  by  the 
gift  of  any  creature,  or  of  any  aggregate  of  creatures, 


224  Of  the  Four  Comfortccble  Words.      [paet 

God  would  have  been  none  the  poorer  for  the  loss  ;  for 
in  another  instant  He  Could  have  created  by  the  v/ord  of 
His  power  other  worlds,  brighter  and  more  beautiful 
than  this.  But  His  Son  was  a  Person  in  the  Divine 
Nature,  whom  in  His  exceeding  Love  to  the  world  He 
rent  from  His  Bosom,  and  parted  with  for  a  while,  send- 
ing Him  down  into  the  pit  of  our  ruin,  to  gather  up  and 
uew-create  into  a  vessel  of  honour,  the  fragments  of  our 
shattered  humanity. 

And  finally,  observe  that  all  we  have  to  do  in  order 
to  avail  ourselves  of  this  gift  is  summed  up  in  a  single 
word,  "Believe," — "  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him," 
&c.  The  commandment  is  not  far  off,  nor  in  heaven, 
nor  in  the  deep,  nor  beyond  the  sea,  but  very  nigh  unto 
us,  in  our  mouih  and  in  our  heart,  that  we  may  do  it. 
A  sincere  turning  away  from  sin,  and  a  casting  of  all  the 
burdens  of  the  conscience  on  Christ, — this  is  belief;  and 
"  whosoever  believeth,"  so  runs  the  Comfortable  Word, 
such  is  the  song  of  the  second  step,  "  shall  not  perish,  but 
have  everlastino-  life." 

3.  But  a2:ainst  all  declarations  and  evidences  of  God's 
Love  whatsoever,  a  wounded  conscience  will  insist,  with 
much  pertinacity,  that  never  yet  was  sin  so  great  and 
grievous  as  its  own.  An  instance  therefore  will  be  con- 
solatory, of  one  who  was  the  chief  of  sinners  having  been 
forgiven.  The  song  therefore  of  the  next  step  is,  "  Hear 
also  what  St.  Paul  saith  :  This  is  a  true  saying  and  wor- 
thy of  all  men  to  be  received,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners." 

Observe  now  what  manner  of  sins  St.  Paul's  had 
been.  They  had  been  sins,  by  which  the  progress  of  the 
Gosjiel  had  been  obstructed  in  the  minds  of  others. 
Those  that  were  entering  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 


ni.]  Of  the  Four  Comfortable  Words.  225 

Saul  of  Tarsus  grievously  liindered.  He  set  himself  in 
an  attitude  of  deliant  hostility  to  the  Truth  which  alone 
can  regenerate,  sanctify,  and  save  the  soul.  His  hands 
reeked  with  the  blood  of  Stephen,  and  indeed  of  other 
martyrs  ;  for  he  speaks  of  the  murders  to  which  he  had 
been  an  accessary  in  the  plural  number :  "  3Iany  of  the 
saints  did  I  shut  up  in  prison,"  .  .  .  .  "  and  when  they 
were  put  to  death,  I  gave  my  voice  against  them." 

It  may  be,  alas  !  that  our  influence  hitherto  has  been 
morally  unwholesome  to  those,  with  whom  we  have  come 
in  contact.  It  may  even  be  that  we  have  thrown  temp- 
tation into  the  way  of  others,  and  seduced  them  into 
grievous  sin.  But  can  we  seriously  think  that  the  hin- 
drance offered  by  us  to  the  Truth  and  Grace  of  God  has 
been  greater  than  that  offered  by  St.  Paul?  Have  we 
wrought  more  mischief  iti  the  spiritual  world  than  he  ? 
Take  into  account,  too,  not  merely  the  insult  offered  to 
Our  Lord  by  Saul's  high-handed  opposition  to  His  Truth, 
but  the  wounds  and  sufferings  inflicted  upon  Him  through 
His  members :  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
Me?  "  Saul  could  Eot  have  inflicted  more  suffering 
upon  the  Lord,  had  his  been  the  ruthless  hands,  which 
drove  the  nails  into  the  extremities  of  His  Sacred  Per- 
son, or  made  long  furrows  with  the  scourge  upon  His 
back.  Now  independently  of  St.  Paul's  own  personal 
salvation,  the  Lord  had  an  object,  we  are  told,  in  forgiv- 
ing him,  Avhich  had  reference  to  the  future  of  His 
Church :  "  that  in  me,  first,  Jesus  Christ  might  show 
forth  all  long-suffering,  for  a  pattern  to  them  who  should 
hereafter  believe  on  Him  to  life  everlasting."  Avail 
thyself  of  the  pattern,  then.  Why,  in  the  infinite  fore- 
sight of  God,  may  not  the  long-suffering  which  He  ex- 
hibited towards  St.  Paul,  have  been  designed  for  thy 


226  Of  the  Four  Comfortahle  Words.      [paet 

comfort  and  en  courage  meiit?  Thou  art  a  sinner  of  the 
deepest  dye.  Well ;  the  more  urgent  is  thy  need  of  the 
good  Physician ;  and  the  more  glorious  in  thy  case  will 
be  the  exercise  of  His  skill.  "  He  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance." 

4.  But  the  consolation  of  these  sentences  would  be 
imperfect  if  one  of  them  did  not  refer  distinctly  to  the 
channel,  through  which  pardoning  Love  reaches  us. 
You  have  told  me  of  God's  Love,  the  burdened  con- 
science might  say ;  you  have  told  me  of  Christ's  Love 
and  willingness  to  save  ;  but  must  not  God's  claim  upon 
me  be  satisfied?  Must  He  not  be  just,  as  well  as  the 
justifier  of  him  that  believeth?  The  song  of  the  last 
step  answers  this  question  gloriously:  "Hear  also  what 
St.  John  saith  ;  If  any  man^^in,  we  have  an  Advocate 
with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  and  He  is 
the  Propitiation  for  our  sins." 

"  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ; "  that  is,  we 
sinners  being  represented  in  Him,  He,  when  He  suffered, 
paid  our  debt  in  full.  Does  God  demand  of  us  a  per- 
fectly holy  life?  Our  Surety,  the  representative  Man, 
the  Second  Adam,  yielded  to  the  law  a  perfect  obedience. 
Does  God's  outraged  justice  demand  that  the  transgress- 
or should  suffer  the  penalty  of  transgression  ?  You  and 
I  have  in  Christ  undergone  this  penalty ;  and  Justice 
herself  has  nothing  more  to  allege  against  us.  Yet  even 
this  is  but  half  of  our  comfort.  Devout  members  of  the 
Church  have  sometimes  erred  in  occupying  their  atten- 
tion too  exclusively  with  the  Death  of  Christ,  in  thinking 
too  much  of  the  past  Atonement,  or  rather,  in  thinking 
too  little  of  the  present  Intercession.  The  Apostle  John 
in  this  precious  verse  presents  the  Saviour  under  both 
aspects.  In  His  Cross,  and  Passion,  and  Precious 
Death,  He  is  a  Propitiation.     In  His  glorified  life,  He  is 


m.]  Of  the  Foii/p  Comfortable  Words,         227 

an  Advocate.  He  is  there  in  Heaven  to  perpetuate  the 
work,  which  on  earth  He  but  initiated.  Not  as  though 
He  offers  Himself  often,  or  that  His  Sacrifice  can  ever 
be  repeated  ;  but  that  by  His  personal  Advocacy  it  can  be 
made  continuous,  and  perpetuated  in  its  results  unto  the 
end  of  Time.  "  If  when  we  were  enemies  we  were  rec- 
onciled to  God  by  the  death  of  His  Son,  much  more, 
being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  His  life." 

If  then  it  be  asked  how  we  are  saved,  the  answer  is 
ready  :  "  Through  the  satisfaction  of  Christ  for  us,  while 
on  earth,  and  through  His  present  vigilant  guardianship 
of  our  interests.  We  have  a  Propitiation,  in  answer  to 
the  demands  of  Justice.  We  have  an  Advocate  in  the 
court  of  Heaven,  to  plead  the  Propitiation." 

And  so,  fortified  by  these  Scriptures,  the  devout  wor- 
shipper passes  into  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Communion 
Office,  Avhich  is  jubilant  with  Praise.  As  the  sound  of 
the  Seraphic  Hymn  breaks  upon  his  ear  from  within,  he 
(like  the  prophet  Isaiah,  who  first  heard  that  Hymn)  is 
deeply  abased  at  the  thought  of  his  own  utter  unworthi- 
ness  to  join  in  such  praise  :  "  Wo  is  me,"  cries  he,  "  for 
I  am  undone  ;  because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and 
I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips."  But 
Our  Lord  meets  him  on  the  threshold,  and  lifts  hmi  up 
with  the  invitation,  "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  and  then  reminds  him  of  the 
infinite  Love  of  God.  And  St.  Paul,  a  man  of  like  pas- 
sions with  himself,  reminds  him  by  his  own  example  that 
there  is  salvation  even  for  the  chief  of  sinners  ;  and  St. 
John,  the  Apostle  of  Love,  whispers  a  soothing  word  of 
satisfaction  once  made,  and  advocacy  still  continuing ; 
and  so  he  is  encouraged  to  "  draw  nigh  in  full  assurance 
of  faith." 


228         Of  the  Four  Comfortahle  Words.       [paet 

And  now  we  may  confidently  ask  our  readers  whether 
the  selection  and  position'of  these  sentences  is  not  ad- 
mirable? Is  it  not  clear  that  the  more  closely  we  look 
into  the  Liturgy,  the  more  we  shall  discover  a  mine  of 
study,  of  thought,  of  prayer,  of  theology,  underlying  the 
whole  of  it?  Alas!  that  ordinarily  preachers  give  it 
so  little  exposition,  and  worshippers  so  little  thought ! 
"It  is  the  part  of  Art,"  says  the  proverb,  "  to  conceal 
Art ;  "  and  the  plain,  nervous,  chaste  language  of  "  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  has  this  defect,  that  it  does 
conceal  from  all  but  those,  who  will  be  at  the  pains  to 
look  below  the  surface,  an  amount  of  art,  of  care,  of 
erudition,  which  probably  is  to  be  found  in  no  other  un- 
inspired Book. 

Let  us,  then,  be  thankful  for  this  glorious  heritage 
of  our  forefathers,  "  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer." 
And  let  us  show  our  thankfulness  by  pondering  the 
meaning  of  those  words,  which  Sunday  after  Sunday  slip 
so  glibly  over  our  tongues  in  worship,  that  they  leave 
little  or  no  impression  upon  our  hearts. 

It  was  the  petition  of  the  disciples  that  Christ  would 
teach  them  to  pray  (would  give  them,  that  is,  an  author- 
ized Form  of  Prayer),  "as  John  also  taught  his  dis- 
ciples." It  is  a  petition  which  for  ourselves  is  already 
answered.  The  Providence  and  Goodness  of  God  has 
given  us  a  Liturgy,  which  is  a  faithful  echo  and  expan- 
sion of  Our  Lord's  own  model  Prayer.  But  as  it  is  with 
tlie  model  itself,  so  it  is  with  this  faithful  echo  of  it. 
The  sound  of  both  is  in  the  ear,  while  the  sense  of  neither 
is  in  the  mind.  Pray  we  then  :  "  Lord,  as  Thou  hast 
graciously  taught  us  to  pray,  teach  us  to  understand  our 
prayers,  so  that,  when  we  recite  them,  we  may  pray  with 
the  spirit,  and  with  the  understanding  also  !  " 


PART   lY, 

THE        CHOIR. 


LECTURE   I. 

OF    THE    PREFACE    OR    THANKSGIVING,    AND    OF    ITS    RE- 
LATION  TO   THE   TERSANCTUS. 

**  33jj  ^im  therefore  let  us  offer  ttje  sacrifice  of  pvcList  to  (Soli  con* 
tinualla?,  tjat  is,  tibe  fruit  of  our  lips,  flibiufl  tt)anfe3  to  J&.iB 
!Nanie." — Hebrews  xiii.  15. 

The  section  of  the  Cammunion  Service  on  wliicli  "we 
now  enter  is  perhaps  of  greater  antiquity  than  any  other. 
It  can  be  traced  back  upwards  of  fifteen  hundred  years, 
and  may  possibly  date  from  the  Apostolic  age  itself. 
And  accordingly  it  has  a  peculiar  interest  for  the  devout 
mind.  There  is  something  very  solemn  in  the  associa- 
tions of  an  old  Parish  Church,  in  which  generation  after 
generation  has  worshipped  God.  It  links  us  in  thought 
to  our  forefathers  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  who  in  their  days 
were  the  subjects  of  the  same  struggles,  the  same  temp- 
tations as  ourselves,  and  who  found  their  refuge  and 
strength  in  the  mercy  and  faithfulness  of  the  same 
Saviour.  And  a  similar  interest,  only  intensified  in  de- 
gree, attaches  to  a  venerable  form  of  Prayer,  which  has 
been  consecrated  by  the  use  of  many  centuries.  These 
simple  and  sublime  words  are  the  wings,  on  which  many 
devout  souls  have  been  borne  up  in  their  flight  heaven- 
ward,— thousands  and  millions  of  the  faithful  have  found 


232         Of  the  Preface  or  Thanlisgimng^        [paet 

no  juster  expression  of  tlie  desire,  the  hope,  the  gratitude, 
the  love,  of  which  their  hearts  were  full.  While  a  form 
of  Prayer  is  quite  new  and  untried,  we  are  unable  to 
form  a  judgment  as  to  its  value.  An  experiment  must 
be  made  of  it  before  its  excellences  and  defects  can  be 
recognized, — ^before  we  can  see  the  fulness  and  depth  of 
it,  if  it  have  those  merits,  or  discover  (what  is  soon  dis- 
covered in  most  modern  prayers)  its  shallowness  of 
thought  and  feeling.  What  a  precious  heirloom,  then, 
must  those  pieces  of  devotion  be,  of  which  the  faithful 
from  the  earliest  ages  have  made  experiment,  without 
finding  in  them  any  defect ;  with  which  successive  genera- 
tions have  been  perfectly  satisfied  as  a  vehicle  of  devout 
sentiment !  And  it  is  upon  the  consideration  of  a  piece 
of  this  kind  that  we  now  enter. 

This  section  reaches  from  the  end  of  the  Comfortable 
Words  to  the  end  of  the  Tersanctus,  and  is  introduced  by 
the  following  admonition  and  respond :  "  Lift  up  your 
hearts  ;  "  "  We  lift  them  up  unto  the  Lord."  Observe 
the  connexion  of  these  words  with  what  has  preceded 
them.  The  heart  cannot  be  lifted  up,  to  join  the  heaven- 
ly choir  in  praise,  unless  it  have  first  been  relieved  of  its 
burden  of  guilt.  This  burden  shoald  be  lifted  off  from 
it  by  the  Absolution,  which  Christ's  ambassador  has  just 
pronounced  in  His  Name,  and  by  the  comfortable  sen- 
tences of  Holy  Scripture,  which  are  so  admirably  cal- 
culated to  undo  any  shackles  which  still  hold  it  down  to 
the  earth.  Thus  released,  the  heart,  like  some  balloon 
whose  last  detaining  cord  has  been  cut,  is  prepared  to 
rise  ;  and  at  the  Avord  of  exhortation,  "  Lift  up  your 
hearts,"  if  it  have  hitherto  followed  the  Service  with  the 
spirit  and  with  the  understanding  also,  it  does  rise. 

An  exhortation  then  follows  to  give  thanks  unto  our 


rv.]      and  of  its  Relation  to  the  Tersanetxis,      233 

Lord  God,  and,  the  people  assenting  to  this  also,  Thanks- 
giving and  Praise  immediately  commence,  Thanksgiving 
in  the  Preface  (whether  it  be  only  the  General  Pre* ace, 
or  whether  a  special  insertion,  suitable  to  the  season,  has 
to  be  made  in  it),  Praise  in  the  "  Tersanctus,"  or  Hymn 
of  tlie  Seraphim,  which  at  a  very  early  period  was  en- 
grafted into  the  Liturgy  from  the  Book  of  the  Prophet 
Isaiah. 

1.  Thanhsgiving  and  Praise.  Let  us  observe  this 
indication,  that  we  have  now  arrived  at  the  highest  part 
of  the  Service.  For  Thanksgiving  and  Praise  are  the 
devotional  exercises  of  Heaven,  and  as  such  will  endure 
for  ever.  They  are  analogous  to  Gratitude  and  Love 
among  the  Christian  Graces.  The  necessity  for  Faith 
and  Hope  will  have  passed  away,  when  things  eternal 
become  objects  of  sight,  and  the  Christian  is  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  the  crown  of  righteousness.  And  in  like 
manner  prayer  and  meditation,  th*e  religious  exercises 
corresponding  to  Faith  and  Hope,  will  find  no  place  in  a 
world  where  there  is  no  want  to  be  supplied,  and  no  void 
in  the  heart  which  remains  unfilled.  But  Gratitude 
and  Love  must  endure  throughout  Eternity,  and  all  other 
graces  must  merge  into  them,  and  lose  themselves  in 
them,  as  streams  in  the  ocean.  And  similarly  Thanks- 
giving, which  is  the  utterance  of  Gratitude,  and  Praise, 
which  is  the  utterance  of  Love,  must  for  ever  resound  in 
the  Heavenly  Courts  ;  and  in  these  all  other  exercises  of 
Devotion  must  be  swallowed  up. 

2.  Thanksgiving  and  Praise,  then,  are  in  certain  re- 
spects kindred  to  one  another,  and  have  a  general  char- 
acter in  common.  Yet  they  are  carefully  to  be  distin- 
guished^ and  the  present  section  of  the  Communion 
Ofiice  helps  us  very  beautifully  to  the  distinction.     We 


234:  Of  the  Preface  or  ThanTcsgiving^       [pakt 

thank  God  for  wliat  He  is  to  us, — for  what  He  has  done 
for  us.  We  praise  Him  for  what  He  is  in  Himself, — 
fbr  the  intrinsic  beauty,  goodness,  and  excellence  of  His 
character,  apart  from  any  benefits  which  we  derive  from 
it.  We  thank  Him  in  the  Preface.  We  praise  Him  in 
the  Tersanctus.  We  thank  Him  for  sending  His  Son  in 
the  flesh,  yet "  without  spot  oF  sin,  to  make  us  clean 
from  all  sin;"  for  "destroying  sin  by  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  restoring  to  us  everlasting  life  by  His  Resur- 
rection;" for  allowing  and  causing  a  place  to  be  pre- 
pared for  us  in  heaven  by  our  great  Forerunner ;  for 
"  bringing  us,  by  the  preaching  of  His  Gospel,  out  of 
darkness  and  error  into  the  clear  light  and  true  knowl- 
edge of  Him,  and  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ ; "  and  for 
"  giving  us  grace,  by  the  confession  of  a  true  faith,  to 
acknowledge  the  glory  of  the  Eternal  Trinity,  and  in  the 
power  of  the  Divine  Majesty  to  worship  the  Unity." 
We  praise  God,  on  the  other  hand,  for  His  moral  and 
natural  beauty ;  for  His  Holiness,  w^hich  is  in  itself  a 
lovely  attribute,  however  terrible  to  sinners,  and  for  that 
Glory,  whereof  not  Heaven  only,  but  Earth  also,  is  full ; 
the  Glory  which  struggles  forth  into  expression  in  all  the 
stars  of  the  firmament,  and  in  all  the  flowers  of  the 
earth,  those  "  stars  which  in  Earth's  firmament  do 
shine." 

3.  It  will  be  seen,  I  think,  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  Praise  is  the  higher  exercise  of  the  two.  While,  on 
the  one  hand,  Ave  must  beware  of  the  error  maintained 
by  Fenclon,  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  others,  who  stig- 
matized Gratitude  as  a  sordid  afifection,  and  went  so  far 
as  to  say  that  no  love  of  God  is  really  the  offspring  of 
Grace,  unless  it  be  entirely  disinterested,  and  free  from 
all  consideration  of  our  personal  advantage  ;  on  the  other 


IV.]      and  of  its  Relation  to  the  Tersanctus,       235 

hand  we  cannot,  consistently  with  truth,  deny  that  the 
Love  of  God  for  Himself,  is  a  higher  state  of  mind,  and 
praise  of  Him  a  higher  exercise,  than  gratitude  and 
thanksgiving  for  His  benefits.  Nor  can  there  be  any 
doubt  that,  as  the  Christian  grows  in  grace,  he  will  grow 
also  in  disinterested  love  ;  that  he  will  be  able  to  appre- 
ciate more  fully,  not  only  the  mercy  and  goodness  of 
God  to  himself,  but  the  excellence  of  the  Divine  Charac- 
ter ;  and  that  our  advance  or  backwardness  in  this  re- 
spect may  serve  as  a  useful  criterion  of  our  spiritual 
state.  Not  however  that  it  is  expedient  or  judicious  to  ana- 
lyze too  minutely  our  motives  in  this  respect,  or  to  tease 
ourselves  because  we  cannot  discover  in  our  own  minds 
sentiments  towards  God,  which  we  judge  to  be  purely 
disinterested.  A  generous  gratitude  to  God, — the  grat- 
itude which  does  not  make  any  mercenary  computation 
of  the  number  of  His  blessings,  but  thrills  with  an  affec- 
tionate sense  of  His  Goodness,  and  with  a  desire  to 
please  Him  (and  no  other  is  genuine),  easily  passes  into 
love,  if  indeed  it  be  not  love  already;  and  Thanksgiv- 
ing, when  sincere,  has  a  natural  tendency  to  pass  into 
Praise.  The  Thaukssfiving;  of  the  Church,  drawn  from 
the  consideration  of  the  Saviour's  Mission,  the  Comfort- 
er's Mission,  and  the  Revelation  to  her  of  the  Truth, 
mounts  nimbly  up  the  ladder,  on  which  Angels  and 
Archangels,  and  all  the  company  of  Heaven,  are  prais- 
ing God  for  His  Holiness  and  Glory. 

4.  AYe  must  offer  one  or  two  remarks  in  this  pla-ce 
on  one  of  the  names  of  the  Holy  Communion,  which  has 
not  yet  come  before  us,  but  which  now  naturally  pre- 
sents itself  for  consideration.  This  service  then  has 
been  called  from  very  early  times  the  Eucharist  or 
Thanksgiving  Service.     Many  able  commentators  sup- 


236  Of  the  Preface  or  ThanTtsgimng^       [pakt 

pose  that  the  word  has  the  sanction  of  Inspiration  ;  and 
that  when  St.  Paul  Y\^rites  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  16,  "•  When 
thou  shalt  bless  with  the  Spirit,  how  shall  he  that  occu- 
pieth  the  room  of  the  unlearned  say  Amen  at  thy  giving 
of  thanks,  seeing  he  understandeth  not  what  thou  say- 
est  ?  "  he  is  alluding  to  the  great  Thanksgiving  Prayer 
which  the  Minister  was  in  the  habit  of  reciting  at  the 
Condmunion,  when  blessing  the  Bread  and  Wine,  and  to 
which  the  laity  responded  by  a  hearty  and  devout  Amen. 
But  whether  or  not  this  allusion  can  be  satisfactorily 
made  out,  certain  it  is  that  the  word  "  Eucharist"  has 
been  very  long  in  use  to  express  this  rite  ;  and  that  it 
gives  us  one  main  aspect  of  the  Ordinance,  aud  an  as- 
pect under  which  the  early  Church  delighted  to  look  at 
it.  Our  own  Church  adopts  exactly  the  same  view  of 
the  Ordinance,  when  she  employs  these  words :  "  We 
entirely  desire  Thy  fatherly  goodness  mercifully  to  accept 
this  OUT  Sacrifice  of  Praise  and  Thanksgiving.'"  It  is 
rather  singular,  not  indeed  that  Thanksgiving  and  Praise 
should  have  been  largely  introduced  into  the  Service  of 
the  Communion,  but  that  they  should  have  been  consid- 
ered so  to  form  the  core  and  nucleus  of  the  whole,  that 
the  current  name  for  the  Ordinance  should  be  the  Tlianks- 
giving  Service.  In  this  name  you  observe  the  elements 
are  ignored  ;  there  is  nothing  to  remind  us  of  the  Bread 
and  Wine,  or  of  the  participation  in  them  by  the  Com- 
municants. Perhaps  the  early  Christians  saw  so  clearly 
the  permanent  element  of  the  Ordinance,  that  the  thought 
of  this  loosened  the  hold  of  their  minds  on  that  which  is 
temporary.  The  participation  of  the  Supper  has  a  pre- 
scribed term,  after  which  it  must  pass  away.  It  is  or- 
dained to  endure  till,  and  only  till,  "the  Lord  come." 
But  so^far  as  the  Service  is  one  of  Thanksgiving  and 


TV.']      and  of  its  Relation  to  the  Tersanctus.       237 

Praise ;  so  far  as  in  it  we  join  our  voices  with  those  of 
Cherubim  and  Seraphim,  Angels  and  Archangels,  and 
all  the  company  of  Heaven,  so  far  it  can  never  pass 
away.  It  is  probable  that  in  some  part  of  the  Christian 
world  the  Eucharist  will  be  actually  in  celebration,  when 
the  hour  for  the  Second  Advent  arrives.  If  it  be  so, 
while  the  earthly  elements  of  the  rite  will  of  course  be 
superseded  by  the  Lord's  appearance,  and  while  there 
will  be  no  longer  any  need  of  remembrancers  of  a  Sav- 
iour who  is  present,  yet  the  Thanksgiving  Service  will 
undergo  no  interruption,  but  will  be  taken  ufT  into  the 
harmonies  of  Heaven ;  and  suddenly  with  those  poor 
waiting  (and  perhaps  persecuted)  Christians,  who  are 
celebrating  the  Death  of  their  Master,  there  will  be  a 
multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God  and  saying, 
"  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  heaven  and 
earth  are  full  of  Thy  glory  :  Glory  be  to  Thee,  0  Lord 
most  High."  And  as  at  the  marriage  of  Cana  the  weak 
element  of  water  was  transmuted  in  the  Lord's  Presence 
into  a  rich  and  genial  wine,  so  the  poor  accents  of  these 
worshipping  saints  shall  be  turned  into  heavenly  adora- 
tion by  the  sudden  influx  into  them  of  joy  and  praise ; 
and  the  song,  which  the  Seraphim  have  been  singing 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Creation,  and  which  the  Church 
of  Christ  has  from  the  earliest  times  engrafted  into  her 
Liturgy,  shall  seem  to  them  "  a  new  song,"  when  that 
Church,  from  being  militant,  has  become  triumphant. 

Reader,  if  Thanksgiving  and  Praise  are  to  be  the 
ceaseless  Service  of  the  true  Church  of  God  throughout 
Eternity,  are  we  qualifying  ourselves  for  joining  in  them? 
If  Thanksgiving  and  Praise  are  the  very  atmosphere  of 
glory,  are  we  becoming,  by  the  daily  cultivation  of  a  spirit 
of  thankfulness — a  sanguine,  buoyant,  elastic  spirit — ac- 


238  Of  the  Preface  or  Thanksgiving^       [paet 

climatized  to  Glory  ?  God  will  not  place  His  people  in 
Heaven  by  an  arbitrary  act  of  His  will ;  there  must  be 
in  every  one  who  is  to  be  transplanted  thither  a  con- 
geniality with  the  climate — a  "  meetncss  for  the  inher- 
itance of  the  saints  in  light."  Are  our  hearts  then  in 
tune  for  Thankso;ivins:  and  Praise?  And  if,  throuo;h 
natural  infirmity,  not  always  so  ;  if  very  often,  through 
fatigue,  or  outbreaks  of  temper,  or  indolence,  or  the  in- 
roads of  worldly  carefulness  it  is  otherwise,  and  the 
heart,  instead  of  "  singing  and  making  melody  to  the 
Lord,"  makes  a  jarring  discord  to  His  ear,  do  we  (as 
soon  as  may  be)  take  it  down  and  tune  it  again  by 
prayer,  and  study  of  God's  Word,  and  thought  of  His 
mercies  ?  Are  we  careful  to  ^eep  it  in  tune  by  a  thank- 
ful remembrance  of  Christ's  Death  in  the  way  of  His 
appointment?  And  do  we  bear  in  mind  that  thank- 
fulness is  not  only  cultivated  by  the  Holy  Communion, 
but  also  is  (in  a  measure)  a  qualification  for  it?  Do  we 
reflect  that  if  the  Communion  be  the  Church's  great 
Thanksgiving  Service,  our  correspondence  with,  it  and 
fitness  for  it  must  stand  to  a  great  extent  in  genuine 
thankfulness  of  heart?  That-  therefore  any  thing  like 
murmuring  at  our  lot,  discouragement  at  our  trials  and 
failures,  limitation  in  our  own  minds  of  Christ's  mercy, 
wisdom,  and  power,  corroding  cares,  acrimonious  feel- 
ings to  others,  must  throw  us  out  of  harmony  with  the 
Ordinance,  and  act  as  direct  disqualifications  for  it? 
For  all  these  things  are  drawbacks  and  hindrances  to  the 
fulfilment  of  the  precept,  "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  alway ; 
and  again  I  say.  Rejoice ;"  and  it  is  only  by  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  precept  in  the  general  tone  of  our  minds 
that  we  can  live  in  a  state  of  habitual  preparedness  for 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord. 


IV.]      and  of  its  Relation  to  the  Tersanctus.      239 

We  have  spoken  of  the  duty  and  importance,  both  in 
relation  to  our  hereafter,  and  to  preparedness  for  the 
Holy  Communion,  of  cultivating  the  grace  of  thankful- 
ness. And  in  this  Avork  there  is  one  danger  against 
which  we  should  be  on  our  guard.  In  mounting  the  lad- 
der of  Praise,  we  must  not  think  scorn  of  the  lower  steps, 
or  aim  at  the  highest  jflights  before  we  have  achieved  the 
more  ordinary  ones.  Christ's  Death  is  indeed  the  su- 
preme subject  of  thankfulness,  because  it  is  the  procuring 
cause  of  our  Redemption  ;  but  even  the  smallest  tem- 
poral mercies  may  prove  real  incentives  to  gratitude, 
without  in  the  least  drawing  off  the  mind  from  the 
thousrht  of  the  Saviour.  The  glow  of  health  and  animal 
spirits,  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  home,  the  pleasures 
of  the  intellect,  the  amusement  from  which  the  mind 
gains  a  temporary  relief,  and  all  the  manifold  small  con- 
tentments of  daUy  life,  may  be  looked  at  in  the  light  of 
the  Atonement,  considered  as  the  purchase  of  Christ's 
Blood,  and  as  won  for  us  by  His  Intercession.  Thus 
every  little  blessing  and  comfort  may  become  a  separate 
string  giving  a  sound  of  its  own,  in  the  great  harp  of 
Praise.  And  that  it  may  be  so,  it  may  be  Avell  each 
night  to  reviev/,  not  our  own  conduct  only,  but  the  mer- 
cies with  which  God  during  that  day  has  visited  us  ; 
and  spreading  them  out  before  the  eyes  of  our  minds  in 
detail,  to  consider  that  it  was  for  these  small  mercies,  as 
well  as  for  the  "greater  blessings  of  Redemption  and 
Sanctification,  that  Our  Lord  agonized  and  bled,  and 
that  these  therefore  ought  to  contribute  their  quota  of 
impulse  towards  a  generous  and  loving  service  of  Him. 

Finally ;  from  the  interesting  variety  in  the  Com- 
munion Service  which  is  made  by  the  Proper  Preface  at 
the  five  great  Festivals,  a  practical  lesson  may  be  de- 


24:0      Of  the  Preface  or  Thanlcsgiving^  (&c.     [paet 

rived.  The  Liturgy  of  the  Church  may  usefully  serve 
for  a  model  in  our  private  devotions,  as  well  as  for  a 
guide  in  our  public.  And,  when  studied  as  a  model,  it 
teaches  us  this,  that  it  is  useful  to  have  a  general  frame- 
work of  prayer,  and  occasionally  to  vary  that  general 
framework  by  insertions  suitable  to  the  occasion.  Self- 
examination  will  usually  furnish  topics  for  these  in- 
sertions. Have  I  committed  special  sins  this  day?  I 
wdll  confess  them.  Have  I  received  special  answers  to 
prayer?  I  will  acknowledge  them.  But  there  are  cer- 
tain seasons  in  the  Christian's  life,  with  which  peculiar 
associations  connect  themselves,  and  which  should  be  al- 
lowed to  give  rise  to  special  expressions  of  devout  senti- 
ment. Such  are  a  Birthday,  a  New  Year's  Day,  a 
Wedding  Day,  the  day  of  the  Baptism  or  Confirmation 
of  a  child,  the  anniversary  of  a  friend's  death,  or  of  the 
day  (if  it  have  been  a  marked  one)  when  we  were  first 
brought  "under  the  influence  of  Religion.  Let  some  allu- 
sion to  the  event  in  the  way  of  humiliation,  or  petition, 
or  thanksgiving,  be  woven  into  our  daily  prayer ;  and 
thus  let  the  transaction  be  taken  up  into,  and  become 
part  of  the  aliment  of,  our  spiritual  life.  For  not  only 
the  Church  in  general,  but  each  individual  soul,  has  its 
own  seasons  of  special  humiliation  and  special  joy.  And 
to  avail  ourselves  of  these  seasons,  as  incentives  either 
to  a  deeper  penitence  or  a  livelier  thankfulness,  is  a  point 
of  holy  policy,  which  will  be  found  to  contribute  greatly 
to  the  liveliness  and  reality  of  our  devotion. 

For  the  besetting  snare  of  all  stated  prayers  offered 
at  set  times  is  formalism ;  and  this  snare  is  best  avoided 
by  a  certain  amount  of  variety,  while  the  general  plat- 
form of  our  prayer  is  the  same.  Our  minds  at  different 
periods  are  in  a  different  key.     When  we  tune  them  for 


rv.]  Of  our  Communion  with  the  Angels,  <&g,    2il 

devotion,  let  us  manage  them  adroitly  in  reference  to 
that  key,  and  try  to  bring  out  its  peculiar  character,  so 
that  all  their  moods  may  be  made  (under  Grace)  to  min- 
ister to  God'rf  glory.  Thus  shall  we  conduct  our  private 
devotions  in  the  spirit  of  the  Proper  Preface,  which  gives 
to  the  Church's  Thanksgiving  Service  a  different  com- 
plexion at  different  seasons,  celebrating  at  one  time  the 
Incarnation,  at  another  the  Resurrection,  at  another  the 
Ascension  of  our  Lord,  now  the  descent  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  now  the  Revelation  of  the  full  mystery  of  the 
Godhead. 


LECTURE   II.   ' 

OF    OUR   COMMUNION    WITH    THE     ANGELS,    AND    OF    THE 

TERSANCTUS. 

"  X'c  arc  come  .  .  .  to  nn  innumcvablc  compann  of  Slitflcls." 
Tl poaE7.r]71'Qare  /xvpiaacv  ayy€?MV, — Heb.  xii.  22  (part). 

The  Holy  Communion,  as  its  name  denotes,  is  that 
Ordinance  of  the  Church,  in  which  we  have  the  most  in- 
timate communion  with  Our  Lord,  which  it  is  possible  to 
have  upon  earth.  The  assimilation  of  the  elements  to 
the  body,  their  absorption  into  the  system  in  the  ordinary 
process  of  nutrition,  is  a  sign  of  the  closeness  of  our 
union  with  Christ,  which  is  by  this  Sacrament  cemented. 
Now  communion  with  Christ  involves  communion  with 
all  tliose  who  are  at  one  with  Him  ;  the  Communion  of 
Saints  is  wrapped  up  in  it.  Communion,  Jirsf^  icith  dis- 
tant saints,  separated  from  us,  it  mtiy  be,  by  mountain 
range  and  ocean,  by  many  a  weary  tract  of  land  and  sea. 
11 


242      Of  OUT  Communion  with  the  Angels^    [paet 

One  great  feature,  therefore,  of  the  Communion  Service, 
is  a  grand  intercession  with  the  "  God  who  has  taught 
us  to  make  prayers  and  supplications,  and  to  give  thanks, 
for  all  men,"  "for  the  whole  state  of  Christ's  Church 
militant  here  on  earth."  Communion^  next^  ivith  departed 
saints.  Their  place  upon  earth  knows  them  no  more  ; 
their  relations  with  those  who  are  left  behind  seem  to  be 
altogether  suspended  ;  they  have  ceased  to  be,  what  they 
once  were,  living  influences,  shaping  the  character  of 
those  among  whom  they  sojourned;  even  their  memory 
becomes  less  and  less  vivid  with  time,  and  fades  in  the 
mind  of  those  once  intimate  with  them,  till  it  approx- 
imates to  a  name  ;  but  they  are  with  Christ,  and  we, 
too,  being  with  Him  in  the  Holy  Communion,  if  we  re- 
ceive this  Ordinance  faithfully,  they  are  certainly  (al- 
though invisibly)  with  us  in  the  union  of  His  Mystical 
Body.  We  definitely  call  them  to  mind,  therefore,  in 
the  celebration  of  the  Rite,  "  blessing  and  praising  God's 
holy  Name,  for  all  His  servants  departed  this  life  in  His 
faith  .and  fear,  and  beseeching  Him  to  give  us  grace  so 
to  follow  their  good  examples,  that  with  them  we  may 
be  partakers  of  His  heavenly  kingdom." 
•  .  But  finally,  in  Comm.union  with  Christ,  Communion 
with  the  Angels  is  involved.  And  accordingly  this  Office 
contains  two  Angelic  Hymns,  one  of  which  precedes, 
and  the  other  follows,  the  administration,  the  first  being 
the  Hymn  which  the  Prophet  Isaiah  heard  the  Seraphim 
chanting  in  the  Temple,  the  other  the  jubilant  Song  of 
the  Angels,  who  appeared  to  the  shepherds  on  the  night 
of  the  Nativity. 

Of  the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  Christ  with 
Angels,  a  doctrine  *vvhich  is  brought  out  by  this  feature 
of  the  Service,  the  secret  and  history  is  as  follows.     It 


rv.]  (Mid  of  the  Tersanctus.  ^       243 

is  true  indeed  that,  before  the  Incarnation,  angels  were 
occasionally  sent  on  errands  to  God's  faithful  servants 
for  their  warning,  encouragement,  or  succour.  But  at 
that  time  the  union  between  Heaven  and  Earth,  which 
was  to  be  made  by  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
lay  only  in  the  Divine  Counsels, — had  not  yet  been  ef- 
fectuated ;  and  therefore  the  participation  of  the  Church 
in  the  worship  of  the  Heavenly  Host  could  not  be  as  yet 
declared, — man  could  not  as  yet  be  formally  admitted  to 
join  in  the  services  of  Heaven.  A  glimpse  of  what  those 
services  were,  had  indeed  been  afforded  to  the  Prophet 
Isaiah.  "  In  the  year  that  King  Uzziah  died,"  he  saw 
the  Seraphim  surrounding  the  throne  of  the  Lord,  and 
crying  one  to  another,  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  is  the  Lord 
of  Hosts:  the  whole  Earth  is  full  of  His  Glory."  The 
Evangelist  St.  John,  in  referring  to  this  striking  scene, 
informs  us  that  his  Master  was  the  Person  in  the  Divine 
Nature,  whom  Isaiah  on  that  occasion  saw :  "  These 
things,"  says  he,  after  quoting  some  of  the  words  of  the 
sixth  chapter,  in  which  the  vision  is  recorded,  "  said 
Esaias,  when  he  saw  His  glory,  and  spake  of  Him." 
The  information  is  most  interesting ;  for  it  not  only  es- 
tablishes most  clearly  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  but  also 
furnishes  a  connecting  link  with  what  follows  in  the  his- 
tory of  man's  participation  in  the  worship  of  Angels. 
From  all  eternity,  "  before  the  mountains  were  brought 
forth,  or  ever  the  earth  and  the  world  were  made," 
Christ,  the  Representative  to  creatures  of  the  Invisible 
God,  had  been  adored  in  these  strains  by  the  Seraphim. 
Now  when  He  came  down  from  heaven  to  undertake  the 
work  of  our  Redemption,  these  worshipping  Seraphim 
must  of  necessity  attend  Him  hither  as  His  heavenly  es- 
cort.    One    of  them   goes   before,  and   announces   His 


24:4      Of  OUT  Communion  with  the  Angels^     [paet 

Nativity  to  the  Virgin.  And  as  soon  as  that  Nativity 
actually  occurs,  the  full  choir  is  heard  hymning  the  great 
event, — not  in  the  Temple  (which  represented  Heaven), 
but  in  the  outlying  fields  of  a  small  town  in  Judtea. 
Now  observe  how  their  language  is  modified  by  their 
circumstances.  In  the  hymn  which  they  chanted  in 
Heaven  they  had  indeed  made  mention  of  the  Earth,  but 
merely  as  the  theatre  of  the  glory  of  God,  the  stage  on 
which  all  that  is  proceeding,  even  the  disturbing  agencies 
of  the  human  will,  work  together  for  the  accomplishment 
of  His  purposes  and  the  triumph  of  His  cause.  But 
while  there  is  a  glorification  of  God  in  the  heavenly 
hymn,  tliQre  is  no  indication  of  any  7nmd  of  love  or  hind- 
ness  towards  man.  The  interests  of  Humanity  do  not 
there  come  into  view  ;  for  even  the  condemned  will  glo- 
rify God  in  His  Justice.  But  in  the  Hymn  of  these  same 
angels,  when  drawn  down  to  earth  in  the  train  of  the  Re- 
deemer^ while  still  the  glorification  of  God  occupies  the 
chief  place,  mercy  towards  erring  man  is  proclaimed  in 
no  indistinct  tones  :  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and 
on  Earth  j^eace,  goodwill  towards  men.'' 

The  change  of  tone  is  very  striking.  The  Angels 
seem  to  imply,  even  if  they  do  not  say,  "  Since  God  is 
now  at  peace  with  you  through  His  union  with  your 
nature,  we,  the  Angels,  God's  heavenly  worshippers, 
joyfully  salute  you,  and  admit  you  into  the  fellowship  of 
our  worship,  and  bid  you  join  your  voices  with  ours." 
But  not  only  at  the  Nativity  do  the  Angels  appear  in 
attendance  upon  their  Master,  but,  as  you  well  remem- 
ber, at  all  the  more  critical  periods  of  His  career. 
Angels  ministered  unto  Him  after  the  Temptation  ; 
they  strengthened  Him  in  His  Passion ;  they  waited  at 
His  sepulchre,  to  assist  and  announce  the  great  trans- 


lY.]  cmd  of  the  Tersanctus.  245 

action ;  they  appeared  at  the  Ascension,  and  doubt- 
less in  that  hour  formed  His  escort  and  joined  His  tri- 
umph, crying,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates  ;  and  be 
ye  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors ;  and  the  King  of  glory 
shall  come  in."  Thus  He  was  the  true  Jacob's  ladder, 
set  up  upon  Earth  in  His  Humanity,  and  reaching  to 
Heaven  in  His  Divinity,  upon  which  Angels  were  con- 
tinually ascending  and  descending ;  the  true  and  God- 
built  tower  of  Babel,  by  w^hich  the  Almighty  gives  to 
sinful  man  access  unto  Himself,  and  on  whose  w' inding 
stair  the  shining  hosts  of  Heaven  pass  to  and  fro  continu- 
ally, bearing  upwards  the  tribute  of  human  prayer  and 
praise,  and  downwards  the  messages  of  Grace  and 
Peace. 

But  we  must  not  regard  our  Blessed  Lord's  humanity 
as  isolated  from  that  of  His  redeewned  people.  We  can- 
not separate  from  Him  His  Mystical  Body  the  Church, 
with  which  He  is  indissolubly  one.  There  is  a  Jacob 
lying  beneath  the  ladder,  to  whom  the  Angels  appear  in 
a  comfortable  vision.  There  is  a  city  clustering  at  the 
base  of  the  tower,  into  which  the  heavenly  messengers 
pass  along  the  winding  stair.  The  passage  being  fully 
opened  by  the  finished  work  of  Christ,  which  re-estab- 
lished the  old  highway  of  communication  (formerly 
blocked  up)  between  God  and  man,  the  Angels  are  now 
in  constant  intercourse  with  the  heirs  of  salvation,  succour 
and  defend  us  upon  earth,  on  occasions  when  we  little 
dream  of  their  presence,  and  yield  us  a  true  sympathy  in 
all  our  trials.  And  accordingly  the  Apostle  says,  "  Ye 
are  come  to  an  innumerable  company  of  Angels."  He  is 
describing  the  Christian  Church  in  its  present,  not  in  its 
future  state ;  and  pointing  out  the  grand  sweep  which  it 
takes  into  the  invisible  world,  a  sweep  embracing  not 


246      Of  OUT  Communion  with  the  Angels^     [paet 

only  "  tlie  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  but  also 
principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places.  And  that 
Our  Lord  would  not  have  us  forget  these  last,  or  put 
tliem  out  of  sight,  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  in  that  per- 
fect Prayer  which  He  has  put  into  our  mouths, — a  Prayer 
so  extremely  concise,  that  we  cannot  conceive  any  thing 
impertinent  or  superfluous  to  have  been  introduced  into 
it, — He  directs  our  eyes  toward  the  services  done  by 
Angels  to  Almighty  God,  as  the  model  of  the  services 
we  ourselves  should  render  Him.  "  Thy  will  be  done 
in  Earth,  as  it  is  in  Heaven."  This  is  the  Prayer  which 
He  brought  with  Him  to  domesticate  it  upon  earth,  the 
Prayer  which  savours  of  Heaven  in  every  part ;  for  the 
first  and  principal  clause  of  it,  consisting  of  the  three  first 
petitions,  is  for  the  glorification  of  God,  "  the  hallowing 
of  His  Name,  the  coming  of  His  kingdom,  and  the  doing 
of  His  will  upon  earth  ;  "  and  the  needs  of  man  do  not 
even  come  into  view  till  the  subsequent  part  of  it.  And 
this  "  Tersanctus  "  which  v/e  have  in  the  Communion 
Service,  may  be  said  to  be  a  fragment  of  the  praise  of 
Heaven,  which  our  Lord  drew  down  with  Him,  when 
He  came  to  help  and  raise  poor  fallen  man, — ^a  few  notes 
from  the  music  of  seraphic  harps,  to  be  taken  up  by  our 
faltering  voices  as  best'  we  may.  There  is  indeed  an 
awfulness  about  the  strain,  which  might  well  discompose 
and  discourage  the  minds  of  sinners.  The  Angels  wlio 
never  fell,  speak  of  God  to  one  another  as  holy ;  they 
make  mention  of  His  glory  as  filling  the  whole  earth. 
The  prophet  who  first  saw  the  vision  and  heard  the 
words,  could  not  endure  either  the  sight  or  the  song. 
He  felt  painfully  the  w^ant  of  harmony  between  such 
worship  and  his  own  sinfulness,  the  unsuitability  of  the 
anthems  of  heaven  to  the  defiled  lips  of  grovelling  man. 


IV.]  and  of  the  Tersanctus.  24Y 

"  Woe  is  me  ! "  cried  he,  "  for  I  am  undone  ;  because  I 
am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a 
people  of  unclean  lips  :  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King, 
the  Lord  of  Hosts."  He  is  strengthened,  however,  by 
one  of  the  Seraphim s,  who  takes  a  live  coal  from  off  the 
altar,  and  laying  it  upon  his  lips,  says  to  him :  "  Lo, 
this  hath  touched  thy  lips ;  and  thine  iniquity  is  taken 
away,  and  thy  sin  purged."  And  we  are  to  be 
strengthened  to  sing  this  Hymn  of  the  Seraphim,  all  sinful 
and  defiled  though  we  be,  by  the  thought  of  the  Atoning 
Death  of  Christ,  which  we  commemorate  in  the  Lord's 
Supper,  by  faith  in  His  broken  Body  and  spilled  Blood, 
which  the  Ordinance  both  represents  to  us  and  conveys. 
In  this  Sacrament  Christ  is  evidently  set  forth  before  our 
eyes  crucified  amongst  us.  And  in  the  confidence  which 
that  spectacle  gives  us,  we  need  not  fear  to  open  our  lips, 
and  praise  God  in  the  same  accents  as  those  employed 
by  "  Angels  and  Archangels  and  all  the  company  of 
Heaven."   ' 

We  have  seen,  then,  how  it  is  that  the  Church  of  God 
is  admitted  to  participate  in  the  worship  of  Angels. 
Christ  brought  that  worship  with  him  down  to  our  plan- 
et, and,  having  by  His  work  of  Atonement  and  Media- 
tion restored  the  relations  between  Heaven  and  Earth, 
which  the  Fall  had  interrupted,  embraced  in  one  com- 
munity men  and  angels,  and  bequeathed  to  His  redeemed 
Church  the  anthems  of  glorified  spirits.  But  it  is  given 
us  to  know  not  merely  that  we  are  privileged  to  be  fel- 
low-worshippers with  the  Angels  ;  but  that  they  feel  an 
interest  in  us,  which  makes  this  communion  a  reality  on 
their  part.  Not  only  are  they  joined  with  us  in  Christ 
in  a  common  bond ;  but  they  love  us  and  care  for  us. 
Their  Lord  and  ours  has  assured  us  that  there  is  joy  in 


24:8     Of  OUT  Communion  with  the  Angels^      [paet 

the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth  ;  that  each  sincere  conversion  makes  the  harps 
of  Heaven  vibrate  with  a  new  anthem  of  praise  ;  and 
that  the  heavenly  host  are  so  far  from  looking  down 
upon  human  infirmity,  of  which  one  would  suppose  that 
the  perfection  of  their  nature  might  lead  them  to  think 
scorn,  that  the  highest  of  them, — those  who  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  our  Father  which  is  in  Heaven, — ex- 
ercise a  special  guardianshij)  over  little  children,  the  fee- 
blest members  of  the  human  family. 

And  now  let  us  consider  what  conclusions  of  practical 
value  our  subject  may  have  suggested. 

There  is  no  doubt,  then,  that  we  should  be  much 
more  strong,  much  naore  confident,  and  much  more  fer- 
vent in  our  worship  of  God,  if  we  did  not  feel  alone  in 
it.  We  struggle  against  our  sins  upon  our  knees  ;  and 
we  do  so  oftentimes  very  feebly,  and  with  intermittent 
energy,  because  we  secretly  think  that  no  one  but  our- 
selves is  interested  in  the  struggle,  or  has  the  smallest 
concern  in  our  victory.  All  of  us  remember  the  old 
fable  of  our  childhood  about  the  bundle  of  sticks,  each  of 
which  might  easily  be  snapped  in  sunder  by  itself,  but 
which,  bound  together,  defied  the  efforts  of  a  strong  man 
to  break  them.  The  moral  is  most  instructive.  It  is  a 
well-known  phenomenon  of  our  nature  that  the  mere 
consciousness  of  sympathy  and  united  effort  will  give  to 
the  will  a  strength  almost  invincible.  This  was  the 
great  secret  of  success  in  the  Temperance  movement. 
The  detestable  vice  proved  too  strong  for  a  man,  so  long 
as  he  struggled  against  it  as  an  individual,  and  found  his 
only  resources  in  the  approbation  of  his  own  conscience. 
But  no  sooner  did  he  league  with  others  under  a  com- 


IV.']  and  of  the  Tersanctus,  249 

mon  banner  against  this  moral  enemy, — no  sooner  did 
lie  thus  gain  the  assurance  that  others  were  fighting  all 
around  him  at  his  side, — than  he  prevailed  against  the 
strong  temptation  and  eventually  became  master  of  his 
own  will.  It  was  a  great  lesson  to  this  effect,  that  with- 
out the  assurance  of  hearty  sympathy  and  co-operation 
we  can  never  achieve  any  signal  success  against  our 
spiritual  foee. — But  then  must  not  God  have  known  the 
constitution  of  our  nature  in  this  respect ;  and  in  the 
Gospel,  which  is  so  wonderfully  framed  to  meet  all  the 
wants  of  that  nature,  must  He  not  have  made  some  pro- 
vision, by  which  this  principle  shall  be  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  Truth  and  Godliness  ?  We  entirely  believe  that 
He  has  done  so.  In  that  Creed,  which  reduces  the 
whole  of  Christian  Doctrine  to  the  fewest  and  most  es- 
sential Articles,  we  avow  our  belief  in  "  the  Holy  Cath- 
olic Church,  (which  is)  the  Communion  of  saints." 
Rightly  understood,  this  Article  nerves  us  for  righteous- 
ness almost  as  much  as  some  of  the  foregoina;  and  more 
fundamental.  We  avow  our  belief  that  in  our  struggles 
against  sin,  the  world,  and  the  devil,  we  are  leagued 
together  under  a  common  banner  with  all  the  living  ser- 
vants  of  God,  with  those  who  departed  this  life  in  His 
faith  and  fear,  and  with  holy  Angels.  But  do  we  re- 
alize the  belief,  or  is  it  merely  speculative?  While  Ave 
pray,  for  example,  do  we  feel  the  power  of  the  thought 
that  thousands  are  lifting  up  their  hearts  at  the  same 
time, — many  of  them  more  faithful  than  ourselves, — and 
that  of  these  thousands  some  are  actually  supporting  us 
in  their  prayers,  supplicating  God  to  "  strengthen  such 
as  do  stand;  to  comfort  and  help  the  weak-hearted ;  to 
raise  up  them  that  fall ;  and  finally  to  beat  down  Satan 
under  His  people's  feet?"  Have  we  ever  reflected  that 
11* 


250     Of  OUT  Communion  with  the  Angels^      [paet 

there  is  probably  no  instant  of  time,  at  which  some 
members  of  the  Christian  Church  are  not  approaching 
the  One  Father,  through  the  One  Mediator,  under  the 
influence  of  the  One  Spirit,  and  virtually  advancing  by 
faithful  prayer  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  in  the  hearts 
of  all  ?  Beautiful  is  that  comment  of  Bishop  Andrewes 
upon  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  The  Spirit  maketh  inter- 
cession for  us  with  groaniugs  which  cannot  fee  uttered  "  : 

"  But  is  thy  spirit  and  mine  unutterable,  which  ofteiD 
is  no  spirit  at  all,  and  often  a  cold  one?  Surely  this  can 
hardly  be  said  of  the  individual  Christian.  But  then 
there  is  no  day,  and  no  moment,  in  which  God  is  not 
supplicated  by  the  faithful,  by  one  more  fervently,  by 
another  more -tepidly ;  and  because  all  the  faithful  to- 
gether make  up  one  dove,  from  this  dove  proceed  the 
unutterable  groans,  that  is  to  say  from  the  groans  of  all 
for  the  common  behoof,  which  groans,  as  they  are  united 
together  in  the  Body  of  the  Church,  benefit  all." 

But  there  are  others  interested  in  our  worship  of  God, 
and  in  our  struggles  against  sin,  besides  those  who  still 
sojourn  upon  earth.  There  is  an  innumerable  company 
of  angels,  watching  our  conflict,  sorrowing  Avith  a  pure 
and  beautiful  sorrow  at  our  unfaithfulness,  rejoicing  on 
our  return  to  God  and  mingling  their  accents  with  our 
praises.  If  it  pleased  God  to  make  transparent  for  a 
moment  the  veil  of  gross  matter,  these  Angels  would  be 
seen  thronging  the  earth  on  their  errands  of  love,  fre- 
quenting the  assemblies  of  Christians  at  all  times,  and 
specially  whenever  the  Master's  Dying  Love  is  com- 
memorated, and  His  Flesh  and  Blood  are  in  a  mystery 
partaken  of  by  the  faithful.  Christians,  not  only  '•  greater 
is  He  that  is  in  you  than  he  that  is  in  the  world  ; "  but 
also  "  they  that  be  with  us  are  more  than  they  that  he  with 


IV.]  and  of  the  Tersanctus.  251 

them."  The  fallen,  tlie  condemned,  the  accursed,  rep- 
resent after  all  only  a  small  section  of  God's  creatures. 
There  is  an  innumerable  company  of  the  Heavenly  Host 
leagued  tagether  under  Christ  against  the  rulers  of  the 
darkness  of  this  world.  You  never  strive  alone.  Not 
only  is  there  an  outflowing  of  naost  tender  compassion 
towards  you  from  the  bosom  of  the  Divine  Master  ;  but 
every  pure  and  good  intelligence  in  the  Universe  is  on 
your  side,  Avhether  all  be  conscious  of  it  or  not.  There 
are  thousands  upon  Earth  who  are  at  present  being  vis- 
ited with  temptations  which  are  the  exact  counterpart  of 
yours.  They  are  triumphing  over  them  in  the  might  of 
Christ ;  why  should  not  you  ?  The  dead  are  waiting 
and  watching  in  Paradise  for  the  hour,  when  God  shall 
"  accomplish  the  number  of  His  elect,  and  hasten  His 
Kingdom."  And  as  in  a  starlight  night  a  thousand  eyes 
of  fire  look  down  from  Heaven  upon  the  benighted  travel- 
ler, so  in  your  dark  pilgrimage  through  this  world  your 
course  is  run  under  the  eyes  of  principalities  and  powers 
bent  down  uj^on  you  from  another  sphere.  Nor  do  you 
ever  worship  God  alone.  That  infirm  and  feeble  prayer 
of  thine,  of  whose  impotence  you  are  so  painfully  con- 
scious, is  attracted  into  the  strong  current,  first,  of  Our 
Lord's  perfect  Intercession,  and,  secondly,  of  the  unut^ 
terable  groans  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church.  And 
when  thou  givest  praise,  thou  strikest  a  note  which  vi- 
brates through  the  whole  Creation.  Praise  is  an  im- 
pulse in  the  spiritual  world  which  radiates  far  and  wide 
from  the  centre  which  sent  it  forth.  It  is  taken  up  and 
echoed  back  by  all  creatures  in  Heaven  and  Earth.  The 
low,  faltering,  and  discordant  notes,  which  it  may  have 
had  originally,  are  overborne  by,  and  drowned  in,  the 
loftier  melodies  which  absorb  it.     And  these  melodies 


252  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  [paet 

are  from  the  harps  of  Cherubim  and  Seraphim,  who  unto 
God  continually  do  cry,  recognizing  in  their  anthems  the 
grand  multiplicity  of  the  Divine  Praise,  "  Holy,  Holy, 
Holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth  ;  Heaven  and  Earth  are  full 
of  the  Majesty  of  Thy  Glory." 

Thoughts  like  these,  however,  must  be  used  not  as 
an  excuse  for  wilful  languor  in  worship,  but  as  an  en- 
couragement under  infirmities  of  the  flesh,  when  the 
spirit  is  willing  to  worship  God.  And  indeed  they  have 
a  warning  for  us  as  well  as  an  encouragement.  For  if 
Praise  be  so  august  an  exercise,  and  if  in  it  we  join  our 
voices  with  those  of  the  hierarchy  of  Heaven,  we  must 
see  to  it  that  we  do  our  utmost  to  get  our  hearts  in  tune 
before  engaging  in  it.  Words  of  angelic  praise  upon  the 
lips,  without  any  spark  of  angelic  love  and  zeal  in  the 
heart,  what  a  profaneness  must  they  be,  and  w^hat  a 
mockery  !  Let  us  ask  God,  lest  we  should  entangle  our- 
selves in  such  impiety,  that  He  would  touch  our  lips,  like 
those  of  His  Prophet,  with  a  live  coal  from  off  the  altar, 
kindling  our  affections  of  hope,  and  zeal,^and  love,  and 
making  us  more  warmly  aspire  to  those  joys  which  are 
at  His  Right  Hand. 


LECTUEE    III. 

OF   THE   PRAYER   OF   ACCESS. 

**  S!)C2  teavcD  as  tijej?  cnterctt  into  t!)C  clouti.'' — Luke  ix.  34. 

The  true  temper  of  devotion  is  fervour  mingled  Avith 
humiliation.  On  the  one  hand  any  thing  like  coldness 
in  the  worship  of  God  is  unworthy  of  the  Love  which 
He  has  shown  us  ;  unworthy  of  the  position  into  which 


IV.]  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  253 

our  Redemption  and  Regeneration  have  brought  us.  To 
stand  at  a  distance  from  the  Throne  of  God  with  chilled 
hearts  and  tied  tongues,  is  virtually  to  regard  it  as  a 
Throne  of  Judgment,  and  forget  that  it  is  a  Throne  of 
Grace.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  while  we  ought  to  sun 
ourselves  in  the  glorious  privilege  of  access  to  God  through 
Christ,  we  should  never  lose  sight  of  reverence  and  godlj 
fear  in  our  worship.  Our  position  merely  as  creatures 
demands  this.  Angels  when  they  worship,  though  sinless, 
cover  their  faces  and  their  feet  with  their  wings.  Our 
momentary  dependence  upon  God  for  all  things,  if  that 
stood  alone,  should  make  us  profoundlyreverential  in  our 
approaches  to  Him.  But  it  does  not  stand  alone.  Our 
nature  is  not  merely  dependent,  but  deeply  tainted  with 
sin.  We  are  not  only  dust  and  ashes,  but  sinful  dust  and 
ashes,  taking  upon  ourselves  to  speak  to  the  Lord.  The 
three  disciples  on  the  holy  mountain  were  privileged  to  see 
the  glory  of  their  Master,  to  hear  the  Father's  own  voice 
drop  from  the  vault  of  Heaven,  and  to  enter  into  the 
bright  cloud  which  was  there  (as  in  the  Tabernacle  and 
former  Temple)',  the*  symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence. 
But  favoured  and  privileged  as  they  were,  it  is  signifi- 
cantly said  that  they  "  feared  as  they  entered  into  the 
cloud." 

Now  the  circumstances  of  the  devout  communicant  at 
this  period  of  the  rite  may  admit  of  a  comparison  with 
theirs.  We  are  about  to  enter  into  the  closest  communion 
with  God  which  it  is  possible  to  have  upon  earth.  We 
are  approaching  God's  Table  to  be  fed  "  with  the  spirit- 
ual food  of  the  most  precious  Body  and  Blood  of  His  Son 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  We  have  just  been  admitted 
to  the  .worship  of  Heaven,  and  have  joined  with  Angels 
and  Ai'changels,  and  all  the  company  of  Heaven,  in  the 


264  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access,  [paet 

adoration  and  glorification  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  Our 
glorified  Saviour,  who  is  invisibly  present  in  the  midst 
of  the  two  or  three  gathered  together  to  celebrate  His 
Death,  waits  to  receive  us.  And  as  on  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration  two  saints  stood  by  and  assisted  at  the 
great  solemnity,  and  spoke  of  the  decease  of  Christ, 
which  He  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,  so  we  have 
heard  in  the  Comfortable  Words  the  voices  of  two  New 
Testament  saints,  St.  Paul  and  St.  John,  witnessing  to 
us  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  even 
the  chief  of  sinners,  and  that  we  have  in  Him  a  Propitia- 
tion and  a  living  Advocate.  Here,  then,  are  the  Saints 
bearing  testimony  to  the  Lord.  Here  are  the  Angels, 
wdth  whose  voices  we  presume  to  join  ours.  Here  is  the 
Lord  Himself,  going  to  make  Himself  over  to  us,  not  by 
a  carnal  communication,  but  in  a  mystery  which  tran- 
scends our  comprehension  and  our  power  of  expression. 
What  wonder  if  we  fear,  and  once  again  prostrate  our- 
selves, as  we  enter  into  this  bright  cloud  ?  What  wonder 
if,  after  joining  in  the  Hymn  of  the  Angels,  we  shrink 
once  again  under  a  sense  of  our  unworthiness  to  partake 
of  these  holy  mysteries,  and,  falling  upon  our  knees 
before  yet  the  celebration  of  the  rite  mounts  to  its  climax, 
humbly  say,  "  We  do  not  presume  to  come  to  this  Thy 
Table,  0  Lord',  trusting  in  our  own  righteousness,  but  in 
Thy  manifold  and  great  mercies?  " 

We  may  here  take  the  opportunity  of  observing  that 
the  same  mixture  of  fervour  and  humiliation  characterizes 
our  whole  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Special  instances 
of  it  are  to  be  found  in  the  Litany,  in  the  Visitation  of 
the  Sick,  and  in  the  Burial  Service.  But  there  is  no 
instance  which  in  depth  and  pathos  of  devotional  feeling 
exceeds  that  before  us.     The  sinking  from  the  light  and 


lY.]  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  255 

music  of  the  Seraphic  Hymn  into  the  abject  self-abase- 
ment of  the  Prayer  of  Access,  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
of  the  many  striking  features  of  this  Service.  It  is  hke 
the  sudden  descent  of  some  aeronaut  from  the  brightness 
and  glow  of  a  noontide  sky  into  a  dark  glen,  where  great 
trees  interlace  their  branches,  and  leave  only  patches  of 
light  on  the  greensward  below. 

If  the  principles  on  which  our  Liturgy  is  constructed 
may  serve  as  a  guide  to  us  in  private  devotion,  we  may 
learn  an  important  practical  lesson  from  what  has  been 
said.  The  mixture  in  due  proportion  of  reverence  and 
warmth  is  the  perfection  of  worship,  which  must  be  aimed 
at  in  the  closet  as  well  as  in  the  Church.  How  is  it  to 
be  obtained?  By  keeping  the  principle  before  our  minds 
in  the  first  place. — Then,  as  to  details,  it  will  give  free- 
dom and  life  to  prayer  and  praise,  if  we  do  not  entirely 
confine  ourselves  to  set  forms  ;  if  we  vary  and  enlarge 
upon  our  set  prayer  whenever  and  at  whatever  point  the 
mind  feels  disposed  to  do  so  ;  if  we  meditate  much  before- 
hand on  God's  infinite  willingness  (as  overwhelmingly 
evidenced  by  the  gift  of  His  Son)  to  give  us  all  things  neces- 
sary for  our  soul's  health,  and  to  cover,  by  a  fresh  outflow- 
ing of  parental  love,  all  past  sins.  At  the  same  time,  let 
all  tendency  to  diiFusencss  and  overfluency  in  prayer  be 
kept  in  check  by  still  holding  (if  I  may  speak  figuratively) 
the  bridle  of  the  form.  Prayers  purely  extemporaneous 
run  the  risk  of  ii-reverence,  just  as  prayers  purely  recited 
run  the  risk  of  formalism.  And  let  there  always  be  a 
pause  before  the  commencement  of  stated  prayer,  to  call 
to  mind  the  awfulness  of  the  Divine  Majesty,  and  the 
greatness  of  His  condescension  in  allowing  us  through 
His  Son  to  address  Him. 

The  Prayer  now  before  us  divides  itself  into  three 


256  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  [pakt 

parts.  There  is,  first,  the  humiliation  of  the  earlier  part. 
There  is,  secondly,  the  petition  of  the  latter  part. 
And  from  the  first  of  these  we  pass  to  the  second  by  the 
brido-e  of  the  following;  sentiment :  "  But  Thou  art  the 
same  Lord,  whose  property  is  always  to  have  mercy." 
From  the  consideration  of  this  property  in  Him  with 
whom  we  have  to  do,  we  encourage  ourselves  to  prefer 
our  petition  to  Him,  vile  though  we  be. 

We  need  not  do  m.ore  than  exhibit  shortly  the  salient 
features  of  the  two  chief  branches  of  the  prayer. 

1.  Our  self-abasement  express'es  itself  here  in  the 
language  of  Holy  Scripture.  We  take  up  and  echo  back 
the  sentiment  of  one,  who  in  her  day  was  a  successful 
petitioner  for  Christ's  mercy,  and  we  say,  "  We  are  not 
worthy  so  much  as  to  gather  up  the  crumbs  under  Thy 
Table."  Now  consider  the  position  into  which  we  throig^ 
ourselves  by  the  use  of  these  words. 

The  communicant's  many  and  grievous  sins  fly  in  his 
face,  as  he  is  about  to  present  himself  at  God's  Board  ; 
God  seems  to  discourage  him,  as  Christ  discouraged  the 
Syrophoenician,  by  alleging  that  this  high  privilege  is  for 
those  who  have  lived  as  reconciled  children,  not  for  those 
who,  by  reason  of  their  wilful  defilement  and  their  fre- 
quent relapses  into  unclean  living,  are  rather  to  be  termed 
dogs.  And  the  sinner  pleads  guilty  to  God's  charge. 
He  is  a  dog.  Nay,  he  is  worse  far  than  that  Gentile, 
who  first  assumed  the  term  as  expressive  of  her  own 
position.  She  never  had  his  privileges.  She  never 
stood  in  his  relation  to  XlJhrist.  She  never  was  an 
adopted  child.  And  so  he  will  not  even  stand  upon  his 
claim  to  be  treated  as  she  was  treated.  Not  only  is  he 
unworthy  of  the  acceptance  which  she  found,  bat  of  that 
which  she  sued  for.     He  takes  rank  below  her.     He  has 


i^*]  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access,  257 

forfeited  even  the  crumbs.  ""We  are  not  worthy  so 
much  as  to  gather  up  the  crumbs  under  Thy  Table." 

Now  is  not  this  language  calculated  to  awaken  in  the 
mind  a  whole  train  of  humbling  (and  yet  most  con- 
solatory) reflections,  and  to  stir  in  the  heart  a  profound 
self-abasement,  admirably  suited  to  the  occasion  ?  It  is 
as  if  the  Liturgy  invited  us  to  throw  in  our  lot  with 
those  who,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  sought  Christ  under 
some  distress,  and,  by  perseverance  in  their  applications 
to  Him  amid  discouragements,  obtained  relief.  We  are 
reminded  by  this  slight  allusion  how  no  petitioner  who 
so  applied  was  ever  sent  away  empty  ;  how  the  treasure- 
house  of  His  bounty  was  always  thrown  open  to  them 
eventually,  if  only  they  persevered  in  their  petition. 
This  train  of  associations  once  summoned  up,  the  thought 
rushes  into  the  mind  with  consolatory  force :  "  Why 
should  not  I  be  as  they?  Why  should  not  my  persist- 
ence, my  urgent  entreaty,  in  spite  of  all  the  grave 
charges  which  my  conscience  (nay,  which  Christ  in  my 
conscience)  seems  to  urge  against  me,  be  as  greatly 
honoured  as  theirs  was?" 

And  what  an  answer,  moreover,  is  here  to  the  scruples 
of  those  sincere  Christians,  who  allege  the  consciousness 
of  their  own  unAvorthiness  as  a  reason  for  absenting 
themselves  from  the  Table  of  the  Lord :  "  We  are  not 
worthy  so  much  as  to  gather  up  the  crumbs  under  Thy 
Table  ! "  You  could  not  use  these  woi^s  sincerely,  if 
you  imagined  that  you  were  worthy.  The  very  imagina- 
tion would  of  itself  render  you  unworthy.  In  order  to 
justify  this  language,  there  cannot  be  too  deep  a  feeling 
of  our  own  corruption,  of  the  poverty  and  inadequacy  of 
our  repentance,  our  faith,  our  love.  Surely  we  ought  to 
realize  the  words  which  we  use  on  this  most  solemn 


258  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  [paet 

occasion.  And  how  can  we  realize  onr  un worthiness  to 
gather  up  even  the  crumbs,  if  there  be  remaining  in  the 
heart  a  particle  of  self-complacencj  ;  if  we  are  well  satis- 
fied with  om-  religious  attainments,  and  know  not  experi- 
mentally that  we  are  wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor, 
and  blind,  and  naked  ? 

From  this  beautiful  and  appropriate  reference  to  the 
Gospel  narrative  in  the  Prayer  of  Access  we  may  learn 
the  wisdom  of  enriching  our  devotions  by  similar  allu- 
sions. Most  of  Our  Blessed  Lord's  miracles  suggest 
words  and  topics  which  we  may  use  in  this  manner. 
Thus,  for  example,  thinking  of  ourselves  as  defiled  with 
the  leprosy  of  sin,  we  may  say  to  Him,  when  we  kneel 
before  Him,  as  the  leper  of  old  said,  "  Lord,  if  Thou 
wilt.  Thou  canst  make  me  clean."  Regarding  ourselves 
as  utterly  helpless,  we  may  address  to  Him  the  touching 
appeal  of  the  lame  man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  "  Lord,  I 
have  no  man  to  help  me."  When  by  the  changes  and 
chances  of  this  mortal  life,  we  seem  to  be  tossed  on  the 
waves  of  this  troublesome  world,  we  may  cry  to  Him  as 
Peter  cried,  when  his  faith  failed  him  on  the  literal  wave, 
"Lord,  save  me  ;"  or,  as  the  disciples  cried  in  the  tem- 
pest, "  Carest  Thou  not  that  we  perish?"  We  may  en- 
treat Him,  when  we  feel  how  deaf  we  are  by  nature  to 
His  word,  and  how  dumb  in  His  praises,  to  say  unto  us, 
"  Ephphatha,"  and  to  open,  and  keep  open,  the  avenues 
of  communication  between  our  souls  and  the  spiritual 
world.  Or  laying  ourselves  simply  before  Him,  in  all 
the  helplessness  of  our  natural  infirmity,  as  the  paralytic 
was  laid  by  his  friends,  we  may  look  up  wistfully  into 
JHis  face  for  the  inspiriting  word  of  Absolution,  "  Son,  be 
of  good  cheer :  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee."  It  is  aston- 
ishing how  much  life  and  warmth  may  thus  be  given  to 


rv.]  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access,  259 

our  prayers.  There  is  in  many  of  tliose  stories  of  the 
Gospel-  cures  a  peculiar  pathos  ;  and  there  is  no  surer 
way.  of  appreciating  that  pathos  than  by  identifying  our- 
selves with  the  suiFerer,  and  finding  our  own  case  rep- 
resented in  his.  Thus,  moreover,  our  devotions  will 
savour,  as  all  devotions  should  savour,  of  the  Word  of 
God  ;  and  we  shall  cultivate  a  unity  of  e:s.perience  with 
those  early  believers,  who  lived  in  an  age  far  less  arti- 
ficial than  our  own,  when  Divine  Truth  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  heart  of  man  freshly  and  strongly,  and  not 
through  the  diluting  medium  of  conventional  religious 
phraseologies.  This  it  is  which  constitutes  the  real 
charm  of  the  prayers  of  Bishop  Andre wes.  They  are 
almost  entirely  Scriptural.  And  as  the  Scriptural  lan- 
guage of  devotion,  being  the  utterance  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  man,  comes  home  to  the  heart  with  a  power  peculiarly 
its  own  (witness  the  Psalms  of  David,  which  have  been 
ever  the  great  Prayer  Book  of  the  Church),  these  Devo- 
tions, tliough  not  particularly  attractive  at  first,  yet  when 
used  and  tested  by  experience  (the  only  way  of  ascer- 
taining the  real  value  of  Forms  of  Prayer) ,  have  been  so 
much  approved,  that  the  compilation  ranks,  perhaps,  as 
the  first  devotional  work  of  the  English  Church,  and  it 
has  been  said,  and  re-echoed  by  many  a  devout  soul : 
"  Pray  with  Bishop  Andrewes  for  one  week  ;  and  he 
will  be  pleasant  in  thy  life  ;  and  at  the  hour  of  death  he 
will  not  forsake  thee."  Not  that  these  devotions  are  the 
eff^usions  of  the  Bishop's  own  mind.  There  is  scarcely 
an  original  page  in  the  whole  volume.  What  is  so  at- 
tractive is  his  marvellous  power  of  manipulating  Scrip- 
tural phrases  and  incidents, — a  power  analogous  to  that, 
whicli  the  expert  musician  wields  over  the  notes  of  an  in- 
strument,— the  gift  of  bringing  out  the  full  force  and 


260  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access,  [paet 

power  of  Scriptural  narratives,  Scriptural  pleadings, 
Scriptural  expostulations,  Script;|.iral  promises  on-  God's 
part,  and  Scriptural  utterances  of  tLe  deepest  things 
which  there  are  in  the  human  heart.  The  Word  in  his 
hands  is  like  a  great  harpsichord ;  and  by  his  masterly 
and  flexible  management  of  its  notes,  he  brings  out  the 
whole  compass  of  its  devotional  sentiments.  But  it  is 
one  of  those  books  which  cannot  possibly  be  appreciated 
otherwise  than  by  an  experimental  acquaintance  with  it. 
2.  The  petition,  which  forms  the  latter  part  of  this 
beautiful  prayer,  is  for  such  a  participation  of  the  Ordi- 
nance, as  may  ensure  to  us  its  high  and  mysterious  bless- 
ings ;  "  Grant  us  so  to  eat  the  flesh  of  Thy  dear  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  to  drink  His  Blood,  that  our  sinful 
bodies  may  be  made  clean  1^  His  Body,  and  our  souls 
washed  by  His  most  precious  Blood."  The  salient  feat- 
ure of  this  part, — that  which  challenges  observation  as 
being  a  departure,  not  only  from  ordinary  religious 
phraseology,  but  from  modern  ideas, — is  the  distinct  ref- 
erence to  the  body  as  partaking  in  the  blessings  of  Re- 
demption. Certainly  this  clause  is  not  conceived  in  the 
strain  of  popular  theology.  There  is  in  the  minds  of 
many  religionists  a  floating  notion,  entirely  in  accord- 
ance with  the  heresy  of  the  ancient  Gnostic,  that  the 
body  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  and  that  the  liberation  of  the 
soul  from  matter  is  necessary  to  ensure  its  perfection. 
But  even  where  such  a  view  as  this  would  be  explicitly 
disavowed  in  terms,  there  often  exists  an  idea  that  Chris- 
tianity is  thoroughly  and  exclusively  spiritual,  that  it  has 
nothing  at  all  to  do  with  the  material  part  of  man.  The 
Scripture,  however,  expressly  says,  not  only  that  the 
body  is  destined  to  be  hereafter  the  subject  of  glorifica- 
tion ("if  the  Spirit  of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from 


rv.]  Of  the  Prayer  of  Acce^,  261 

the  dead  dwell  in  you,  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from 
the  dead,  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  hj  His 
Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you"),  but  that  it  is  destined  to 
be  at  present  the  subject  of  sanctification :  "  Now  the 
very  God  €if  peace  sanctify  you  wholly ;  and  I  pray  God 
your  whole  spirit,  and  soul,  and  hody  be  preserved 
blameless  unto  the  comino;  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
It  tells  us  that  Christ  took,  and  has  carried  with  Him 
into  Heaven  a  human  body,  "  with  flesh,  bones,  and  all 
things  appertaining  to  the  perfection  of  man's  nature," — 
a  fact  from  which  it  is  easily  concluded  that  matter,  as 
matter,  cannot  have  in  it  any  inherent  evil.  And  it  ex- 
horts us,  finally,  to  convert  the  members  of  our  bodies 
into  the  materials  of  a  sacrifice,  which  bodies  therefore 
must  be  capable  of  a  real  consecration  :  "I beseech  you 
therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  pre- 
sent your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service." 

Now  the  two  Sacraments  (among  other  aspects  of 
them)  are  God's  great  protest  to  this  effect, — that  the 
religion  adapted  to  man  is  not  exclusively  spiritual. 
God  in  these  Sacraments  uses  the  things  of  sense  as  a 
vehicle  of  spiritual  blessings,  by  way  of  teaching  this 
among  other  lessons,  that  the  matter  of  which  we  are 
compounded  is  to  be  embraced,  as  well  as  the  spiritual 
element  of  our  nature,  in  the  great  Scheme  of  Redemp- 
tion. And  as  regards  the  second  Sacrament  in  particu- 
lar. Our  Blessed  Lord  has  used  words,  which  seem  in 
some  mysterious  way  to  connect  the  faithful  reception  of 
it  Avith  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body  unto  Life  :  ''  Whoso 
eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  hath  eternal 
life  ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day." 

A  Communion  Service,  therefore,  would,  I  appre- 


262  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  [paet 

liencl,  be  imperfect,  if  there  were  no  recognition  in  it  of 
the  consecration  and  sanctification  of  the  Body,  of  its 
receiving  in  this  Ordinance  the  stamp  and  the  pledge  of 
its  eventual  glorification.  According  to  this  view  of  the 
subject,  the  clause  before  us  ("  that  our  sinful  bodies  may 
be  made  clean  by  His  Body ")  is  an  integral  feature  of 
the  Commimion  Office, — one  which  brings  out  a  distinct 
and  separate  aspect  of  Christ's  sacrificial  work,  which 
we  are  now  commemorating.  The  sin  of  the  soul  has 
penetrated  into  and  defiled  the  soul's  tenement,  the  body. 
Hence  comes  our  liability  to  disease,  and  the  sad  enfee- 
bling of  our  mental  powers  by  the  defectiveness  or  im- 
paired action  of  some  one  bodily  organ  in  each  one  of  us. 
When  the  soul  is  sanctified,  when  the  will  receives  a  new 
direction,  and  the  afiTections  a  new  tendency, — the  im- 
pulse flows  on  towards,  and  reaches  the  body,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  are  henceforth  yielded  as  instruments  of 
righteousness  unto  God.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the 
body  is  "sinful,"  and  therefore  intrinsically  unworthy  of 
this  glorious  consecration.  But  through  our  um'on  with 
Christ  (the  union  which  by  a  faithful  reception  of  this 
Sacrament  is  cemented)  the  sinful  body  is  made  clean  by 
Christ's  Body  (the  Body  in  which  He  bore  our  sins  upon 
the  Tree),  even  as  the  sinful  soul  is  washed,  through  the 
spilling  of  the  Blood  of  Christ  in  expiation  of  sin.  Pu- 
rified through  this  union,  the  body  becomes  fit  to  be  a 
sacrifice,  and  accordingly  is  yielded  unto  God  in  the  words 
of  tio3  Post-Communion  Prayer :  "  Here  we  offer,  and 
present  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  ourselves,  our  souls  and  bodies, 
to  be  a  reasonable,  holy,  and  lively  sacrifice  unto  Thee." 
Such  is  the  doctrinal  significance  of  the  clause  before 
us.  God  grant  it  may  not  be  to  us  a  barren  dogma,  but 
that  we  may  carry  it   out  to   its   legitimate   practical 


tfvj  Of  the  Prayer  of  Access.  263 

results  !  Surely  if  the  body  shares  in  the  blessings  of 
Redemption,  and  receives  the  dignity  of  a  consecration  to 
God,  it  should  be  hallowed  by  temperance,  soberness, 
and  chastity.  And  more  than  this.  It  is  not  only  to  be 
the  subject  of  restraint,  but  to  be  made  to  minister 
actively  in  the  Service  of  God,  Does  it  do  this  in  each 
one  of  us  ?  Do  the  feet  carry  us  on  errands  of  mercy,  to 
visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction?  Do 
the  hands  engage  willingly  in  profitable  labour,  and  hav- 
ing by  that  labour  gained  more  than  suffices  for  our  own 
wants,  are  they  opened  freely  in  the  relief  of  distress? 
Are  the  eyes  sanctified  by  being  fixed  on  the  glorious 
works  of  God,  while  the  mind  takes  occasion  to  glorify 
the  Creator?  Or,  if  we  are  far  from  landscape  and 
scenery,  are  they  employed  in  reading  the-  Law  of 
the  Lord,  and  in  scanning  with  thoughtful  prayer  His 
wonderful  testimonies?  Are  the  ears  opened  to  the 
glorious  harmony  of  praise,  which  Nature  in  her  every 
district  is  sending  up  to  the  Throne  of  God, — opened  to 
holy  aad  wise  counsels,  closed  against  flattery  and  sinful 
enticement  ?  Do  we  invoke  God's  w.'itch  over  our  mouth, 
and  His  custody  of  the  door  of  our  lips,  and  do  we  also 
watch  that  whatsoever  passes  out  of  that  door  may  be 
pure  and  sincere  at  all  events,  and  (as  much  as  possible) 
useful  and  edifying? 

Lord,  whose  feet  carried  Thee  swiftly  to  the  house 
of  mourning,  whose  hands  gave  health  to  the  infirm,  and 
blessing  to  the  little  children,  whose  eyes,  as  Thou  stood- 
est  at  the  sepulchre,  were  suffused  with  tears,  whose  ears 
were  pierced  with  revilings  for  our  sakes,  in  whose 
mouth  was  no  guile,  and  whose  lips  were  full  of  grace ; 
let  us  not  be  backward  to  yield  to  Thee  the  service  of  all 
our  members,  and   do  Thou  preserve   them  blameless 


264  Of  the  First  Part  [pa:e» 

unto  that  day,  when  Thou  shalt  change  our  vile  bodies, 
that  they  mny  be  fashioned  like  unto  Thy  glorious  Body, 
according  to  the  working  whereby  Thou  art  able  to  sub- 
due all  things  unto  Thyself. 


LECTURE    IV. 

OF  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  THE  PRAYER  OF  CONSECRATION. 

**  2r|)is  tro  in  trememftrance  oC  |^c.** — Luke  xxii.  19. 

We  have  now  reached  the  culminating  point  of  the 
whole  Rite.  The  Consecration  and  Administration  of 
the  Elements  may  be  called  the  nucleus  of  the  Ordinance, 
round  which  grow  up  and  gather  the  various  forms  of 
Devotion  through  which  w^e  have  passed,  and  are  to  pass. 
And  as  the  seed  contains  the  germ  of  the  whole  plant,  so 
this  central  part  of  the  Office  is  a  little  miniature,  or 
short  draught  of  the  whole.  All  that  is  to  be  known 
about  the  Lord's  Supper  is  given  us  here  in  brief  and 
abridgment. 

Before  making  the  actual  celebration  of  the  Death  of 
Christ,  the  minister  produces  his  warrant  for  making  it. 
This  is  done  in  the  first  part  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecra- 
tion, upon  which  alone  we  shall  at  present  have  time  to 
comment:  "All  glory  be  to  Thee,  Almighty  God,  our 
Heavenly  Father,  for  that  Thou  of  Thy  tender  mercy 
didst  give  Thine  only  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  sufi'er  death 
upon  the  cross  for  our  Redemption  ;  Who  made  there 
(by  His  one  oblation  of  Himself  once  ofiered)  a  full, 
perfect,  and  sufiicient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction. 


\ 


IV.]  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration,  265 

for  tlie  sius  of  the  whole  world ;  and  did  institute,  and 
iu  HivS  holy  Gospel  command  ns  to  continue,  a  perpetual 
memory  of  that  His  precious  Death,  until  His  coming 
again."  In  the  second  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians  St.  Paul  speaks  slightingly  of  will-worship. 
By  will- worship  is  meant  the  paying  homage  to  Almighty 
God  after  a  fashion  devised  by  ourselves,  and  not 
dictated  by  His  Word.  It  is  the  worshipping  Him 
according  to  the  leanings  of  our  own  will,  not  according 
to  the  intimations  which  He  has  been  pleased  to  make  to 
us  of  His.  Because  will-worship  is  so  offensive  to  God, 
and  because  we  may  not  presume  without  sin  to  devise 
other  methods  for  His  service  than  He  has  Himself 
appointed,  therefore  we  are  careful,  in  all  our  solemn 
acts  of  Religion,  to  quote  (if  I  may  say  so)  the  authority 
on  which  we  proceed.  Hence  in  the  Absolution  of  the 
daily  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  the  function  is  not 
fulfilled  without  first  reciting  the  authority  on  which  it  is 
exercised,  and  its  conformity  with  the  revealed  mind  of 
God  :  "  Almighty  God,  the  Father  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, Avho  hath  given  power,  and  command- 
ment to  His  Ministers,  to  declare  and  pronounce  to  His 
people,  being  penitent,"  &c.,  &c.  And  in  the  Ministra- 
tion of  Baptism,  you  wiU  find  the  Prayer  for  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  water  entirely  analogous  to  that  before  us. 
For  first  there  is  recited  the  act,  and  then  the  command 
of  Christ,  by  which  the  minister's  function  is  warranted. 
"  Almighty,  everliving  God,  whose  most  dearly  beloved 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  did 
shed  out  of  His  most  precious  side  both  water  and  blood  ; 
and  gave  conimandment  to  his  disciples  that  they  should  go 
teach  all  nations  and  bajHize  them  in  the  Name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." — On  a 
12 


266  Of  the  First  Part  [part 

principle  precisely  similar,  when  we  are  about  to 
celebrate  the  higher  Sacrament,  we  recite  the  Act  of 
Christ  on  which  it  is  founded,  and  the  Precept  of 
Christ  by  which  it  is  warranted.  The  act  is  this,  that 
"  Christ  made  upon  the  cross  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient 
sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world."  The  Precept  is  this,  that  "  Christ  did  institute, 
and  in  His  Holy  Gospel  command  us  to  continue  a  per- 
petual memory  of  that  His  Precious  Death." — Great 
must  have  been  the  satisfaction  of  the  pious  Israelite  in 
thinking  that  the  worship  of  the  Tabernacle  had  been 
expressly  prescribed  by  God,  and  that  a  model  of  all  its 
furniture  had  been  shown  to  Moses  in  the  Mount.  And 
our  satisfaction  may  reasonably  be  great  in  reflecting 
that  this  holy  ordinance  is  a  memorial  designed,  not  by 
man,  but  by  the  Lord  Himself;  by  one  who  knows  our 
nature  and  our  wants  better  than  we  ourselves  know 
them ;  and  who  took  care,  before  He  left  us,  to  furnish 
us  richly  with  all  those  means  of  Grace,  which  we 
should  need  as  channels  of  communication  with  Him 
during  the  time  of  His  absence.  It  would  not  have  been 
otherwise  than  pious  and  devout,  if  the  Lord  had  left 
behind  no  memorial  of  His  Death,  to  appoint  and  ob- 
serve some  season  for  calling  it  specially  to  mind,  and 
reviving  our  impressions  in  connexion  with  it.  But 
upon  such  an  observance  we  could  not  have  hoped  for 
any  special  Blessing,  although  the  state  of  mind  from 
which  it  took  its  rise  would  doubtless  have  been  accept- 
able to  God.  As  matters  stand  now,  may  we  not  most 
surely  expect  that  the  special  Grace  and  Presence  of  Our 
Lord  will  accompany  our  observance  of  His  own  Institu- 
tion, if  only  our  state  of  mind  be  in  keeping  with  the 
occasion? — And  again,  if  will- worship  be  offensive  to 


IV.]  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration.  267 

God,  how  must  He  resent  any  interference  even  Tvilh  the 
details  of  the  Ordinances,  which  He  has  prescribed  for 
our  edification !  If  Christ  has  said,  "  Drink  ye  all  of 
this,"  how  offensive,  what  an  insult  to  His  authority 
must  it  be  to  say  that  none  but  the  officiating  Priest 
shall  drink  of  it,  under  the  sorry  pretext  that  desecra- 
tion is  thereby  hazarded  by  spilling  some  particle  of  the 
wine !  One  form  of  will-worship  is,  no  doubt,  to  invent 
something  wh'ere  God  has  prescribed  nothing.  But 
surely  it  is  another  and  more  culpable  form  to  alter  and 
abrogate,  where  God  has  expressly  prescribed. 

Our  Liturgy  is  very  exhaustive  (though  very  brief) 
in  its  treatment  of  subjects  ;  and  therefore  the  warrant 
for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Supper  is  not  barely 
stated  in  the  passage  befor^  us ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
Ordinance  is  carried  up  to  its  source,  and  down  to  the 
term  prescribed  for  it.  As  a  warrant  for  thus  com- 
memorating the  Lord's  Death,  Ave  have  His  own  institu- 
tion and  command.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  Death 
thus  commemorated?  What  is  the  source  and  origin  of 
it  ?  For  how  long  is  the  commemoration  appointed  to 
last?  All  these  questions  are  summarily,  but  com- 
pletely, answered  in  the  section  of  the  Prayer  now  before 
us.  The  Death  of  Christ  is  a  ''  full,  perfect,  and  suffi.- 
cient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world."  It  had  its  origin  in  the  "  tender  mercy  " 
of  God,  who  gave  His  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our 
sins.  It  is  to  be  commemorated  in  this  manner,  until 
the  second  Advent  of  the  Saviour  supersedes  the  neces- 
sity for  it, — '•  till  He  come." 

1.  The  Death  of  Christ  is  declared  to  be  a  suflleient 
sacrifice  for  sinners  ;  a  perfect  oblation  on  His  part  (an 
oblation  in  which  was  no  flaw  nor  blemish)  ;  and  a  fuU 


268  Of  the  First  Part  [paet 

satisfaction  to  God.  The  sinner  requires  something, — a 
sacrifice.  Christ  presents  something, — an  oblation.  God 
demands  something, — a  satisfaction.  See  how  exact  the 
language  is,  and  how  it  appears  to  have  been  written  for 
the  purpose  of  rebutting,  and  putting  out  of  court  the 
evasions  of  modern  Rationalism.  Observe  that  the 
aspect  of  Our  Lord's  Death  as  an  example,  because  i>t 
was  not  the  leading  or  main  feature  of  it,  is  dropped 
altogether,  does  not  present  itself  at  all  upon  the  field  of 
view.  Most  true  it  is  (and  most  precious  truth)  that 
Our  Blessed  Lord  was  an  example  in  His  death,  as  well 
as  in  His  life  ;  most  true  also  (conversely)  that  all  His 
sufferings,  and  all  His  obedience,  and  not  his  death  only, 
were  atoning ;  but  still  the  great  glory,  and  virtue,  and 
efficacy  of  His  Death,  the  distinctive  feature  of  it,  that 
which  no  other  death  of  human  being  ever  had  in  com- 
mon with  it,  is  its  sacrificial  and  propitiatory  character. 
It  is  not  as  an  example  that  we  now  commemorate  His 
death,  but  as  the  ransom  of  our  souls. 

Again,  observe  how  the  language  is  so  constructed  as 
not  to  allow  any  evasion  of  the  doctrine,  that  the  Holi- 
ness, Justice,  and  Truth  of  God  demanded  this  Death. 
It  was  not  only  a  sacrifice,  intrinsically  noble  and 
generotis  in  the  highest  degree ;  it  was  not  only  a  pure 
and  acceptable  oblation  ;  but  a  satisfaction  also.  If  so, 
there  must  be  a  party  to  be  satisfied ;  and  this  party  can 
be  none  other  than  God :  there  must  be  something  analo- 
gous to  a  debt  on  our  part,  the  creditor  being  God,  and 
the  Person  who  has  made  full  payment  or  satisfaction 
Christ.  This  is  the  primitive,  old,  and  ordinary  view 
of  the  Atonement;  and  although,  no  doubt,  there  are 
many  deep  mysteries  in  the  transaction  which  the  human 
reason   can  never  solve,  I   cannot  but  think  that  the 


IV.]  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration.  2G9 

gTonnds  usually  assigned  for  the  necessity  of  Our  Lord's 
Death  were  very  well  established,  till  a  perverse  ingenu- 
ity, and  a  culpable  inquisitiveness,  which  w^ill  acquiesce 
ia  no  mystery,  came  and  disturbed  them,  and  threw  them 
all  into  confusion.  If  God  is  the  moral  Governor  and 
Judge  of  the  World  (as  who  can  doubt  that  He  is?) 
surely  He  is  bound  to  make  His  Law  respected.  And 
this  obligation  creates  a  real  difficulty  as  to  the  pardon 
of  a  transgressor,  however  strongly  the  tender  mercy  of 
God  might  urge  Him  to  such  pardon.  Persons  entrusted 
with  the  administration  of  jastice  in  an  earthly  commu- 
nity know  what  it  is  to  long  to  spare  a  criminal,  but  to  be 
effectually  checked  by  the  question  rising  up  before  them 
and  hauating  them,  "  Can  I  spare,  consistently,  not  only 
with  the  good  of  the  community,  but  with  justice  and 
right?"  Conceive  the  Lawgiver  and  the  Law  both  per- 
fect (as  in  God's  case  they  are),  and  the  hindrance  to 
the  showing  mercy  is  immensely  aggravated. 

Now  that  a  duly-constituted  Representative  of  our 
Race  (being  also  a  Divine  Person)  should  have  suc- 
ceeded in  removing  this  hindrance,  by  substituting  Him- 
self iu  the  place  of  sinners,  and  receiving  the  pains  and 
penalties  of  sin  upon  His  own  head,  in  such  a  manner  as 
that  all  who  are  truly  joined  to  Him  have  undergone  the 
penalty,  and  paid  the  debt,  in  His  sufferings, — this  is 
indeed  far  above  Reason ;  but  surely  there  is  nothing 
Avhatsoever  in  it  contrary  to,  or  out  of  conformity  with, 
Reason.  The  doctrine  runs  parallel  with  Reason  so  far 
as  our  faculties  enable  us  to  pursue  the  subject ;  but  like 
all  the  doctrines  of  Revelation  it  is  found,  when  followed 
out,  to  abut  upon  mystery ;  and  he  who  is  determined, 
not  merely  to  get  a  glimpse  into  its  reasonableness,  but 
to  reduce  it,  in  all  its  parts,  within  the  compass  of  his 


270  Of  the  First  Fart  [paet 

understanding,  resembles  a  man  who  should  undertake 
to  trace  a  telegraphic  wire  along  its  whole  course  :  for  a 
while  it  runs  parallel  to  the  earth,  and  he  has  no  diili- 
cultj  in  reaching  it ;  but  ere  long  it  takes  a  dip  into  the 
ocean,  or  stretches  across  a  ravine,  where  he  can  neither 
follow  it,  nor  say  at  what  point  it  issues. 

Observe,  also,  how  carefully  the  Roman  doctrine  of 
the  repetition  of  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross  is  fenced  off 
by  the  allusion  made  in  the  words,  "  His  Oyie  oblation 
of  Himself  once  offered,"  to  St.  Paul's  assertion  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  This  man,  after  He  had  offer- 
ed one  yacrifice  for  sins  for  ever,  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  God."  "  By  one  offering  He  hath  perfected 
for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified."  To  offer  another 
Sacrifice  for  sin,  or  to  offer  this  a  second  time,  is  impos- 
sible ;  the  words  of  Inspiration  exclude  for  ever  the  im- 
pious pretensions  of  the  Roman  Priesthood.  "  There 
remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins."  All  that  the 
Church  on  earth  can  do  is  to  prolong  through  all  time  in 
the  ears  of  God  and  man,  the  echoes  of  the  One  Sacrifice 
once  offered  on  Calvary.  The  image,  I  believe,  is  an 
accurate  one,  and  conveys  the  truth  on  this  great  subject 
as  far  as  figurative  language  can  do  so.  A  sound  is  not 
really  repeated,  it  is  not  made  a  second  time,  when  the 
echoes  of  it  are  caught  up  by  neighbouring  rocks  and 
hill,  and  it  is  reverberated  from  peak  to  peak.  Rever- 
beration is  not  repetition,  though  it  may  be  called  so  in 
a  loose  and  popular  way.  And  the  perpetual  memory 
of  the  Sacrifice  of  Calvary  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Eu- 
charist is  indeed  a  reverberation,  but  in  no  sense  a  rep- 
etition, of  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross.  The  Sacrifice  was 
fully  accomplished,  when  Our  Lord  cried  with  His  latest 
breath,  "  It  is  finished."     All  that  remains  is  that  Christ 


rv.]  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration.  271 

should  plead  it  for  us  in  Heaven  above,  that  the  Church 
(which  is  His  Body)  should  plead  it  on  earth  below. 
This  pleading  takes  place  most  emphatically,  and  under 
the  especial  sanction  of  a  Divine  Ordinance,  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  when  Jesus  Christ  is  evidently  set  forth 
before  our  eyes  crucified  amongst  us 

2.  But  again.  This  introduction  of  the  Prayer  of 
Consecration  carries  us  up  to  the  source  of  the  Sacrifice 
of  Christ,  and  so  rebuts  another  serious  error,  which  (as 
is  always  found  to  be  the  case)  has  given  rise  to  error  in 
another  direction.  The  heresies  of  Rationalism  on  the 
subject  of  the  Atonement  are  due  in  great  part,  if  not 
entirely,  to  the  frightful  and  repulsive  picture  of  God  the 
Father,  which  used  to  be  drawn  by  those  who  professed 
to  represent  the  true  Evangelical  scheme.  It  was  too 
often  insinuated  in  the  works  and  sermons  of  these  di- 
vines,  that  the  First  Person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity  wore 
always  a  frown  towards  mankind ;  was,  in  fact,  a  stern 
tyrant,  with  no  other  aspect  towards  transgressors  than 
that  of  unmitigated  severity.  It  was  the  fashion,  and  it 
became  (strange  to  say)  the  orthodox  Shibboleth,  to  con- 
nect the  thought  of  grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  exclusively 
with  the  Second  Person,  and  to  see  in  the  character  of 
the  First  nothing  but  judgment  and  vengeance.  No 
heresy  can  \yell  be  more  unscriptural  in  its  theory,  or 
more  mischievous  in  its  practical  effects.  The  Love  of 
God  is  the  source  of  all  virtue  ;  and  what  soul  can  be 
persuaded  to  love  God,  and  to  render  to  Him  the  homage 
of  affectionate  obedience,  so  long  as  it  sees  in  Him  no 
fatherly  yearning  over  the  fallen,  no  bowels  of  mercies  ; 
— nothing  but  a  stern  insisting  upon  duty,  and  a  prompt 
readiness  to  avenge  all  disobedience?  The  Scriptures 
represent  the- Sacrifice  of  Christ  not  only  as  essential  to 


272  Of  the  First  Part  [paet 

satisfy  God's  demands,  but  as  itself  flowing  from  the 
tender  mercy  and  love  of  God.  Delightful  and  most 
consolatory  thought !  The  Sacrifice  is  as  valuable  for 
what  it  proves,  as  for  what  it  eifects.  It  shows  clearly 
that  there  exists  in  God's  boundless  Love,  which  scrupled 
not  at  the  only  gift  which  could  be  a  sacrifice  on  God's 
part,  the  gift  of  His  Son.  "  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  to  the  end  that  all 
that  believe  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlast- 
ing life."  It  wrings  God's  fatherly  heart  with  pain, 
when  a  sinner  perishes.  Rather  than  that  such  a  thing 
should  be,  He  gives,  He  has  given.  His  Son,  parted 
with  Him  for  a  time  in  some  mysterious  manner,  that 
He  might  bear  our  griefs  and  carry  our  sorrows.  Can 
there  be  by  possibility  a  greater  encouragement  to 
prayer,  to  penitence,  to  faith,  to  affection,  to  every 
gracious  temper,  and  every  spiritual  exeTcise  ?  If  it  had 
not  been  for  God's  Love,  there  would  have  been  no 
sacrifice  for  sin.  The  Love  of  God  is  the  source,  the 
sacrifice  is  the  stream.  The  Love  of  God  is  the  root, 
the  sacrifice  is  the  tree.  The  Love  of  God  is  the  foun- 
dation, the  sacrifice  is  the  superstructure.  Our  Church, 
therefore,  in  setting  forth  the  Sacrifice,  thinks  that  it  can- 
not be  fully  and  fairly  represented  except  in  this  aspect, 
as  evidencing  the  boundless  compassion  for  man,  which 
finds  place  in  God's  fatherly  heart.  So  when  the  Sac- 
rifice is  to  be  celebrated,  and  the  memorial  of  it  solemnly 
made  (according  to  the  Lord's  appointment)  with  bread 
and  wine,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  travel  up  to  the 
source  of  this  inestimable  benefit,  and  to  rehearse  and 
commemorate  the  tender  love,  which  so  longed  for  our 
recovery  as  not  to  keep  back  from  us  the  most  precious 
thing  it  had ;  and  the  rehearsal  is  made  after  this  man- 


IV.]  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration.  273 

ner  :  "  Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  of  Thy 
tender  mercy  didst  give  Thine  only  Son  Jesus  Christ  to 
suffer  death  upon  the  Cross  for  our  Redemption." 

Is  it  not  marvellous  how  our  formularies,  if  exam- 
ined and  weighed,  are  found  to  fence  off  error  at  every 
point  of  the  charmed  circle  of  Truth,  at  which  error  can 
possibly  insinuate  itself  ? 

3.  But,  again ;  as  this  introductory  clause  of  the 
Prayer  carries  us  up  to  the  source  of  the  Sacrilice  of 
Christ,  so  it  carries  us  down  to  the  period  when  that 
Sacrifice  shall  no  longer  need  to  be  pleaded,  because  the 
Mediatorial  Kingdom  will  then  have  ceased,  and  the  sin 
which  still  remains  in  the  universe  will  not  admit  of  ex- 
piation and  atonement.  The  reverberation  of  the  Sac- 
rifice of  Calvary  is  to  sound  along  the  whole  course  of 
time,  to  be  made  in  the  ears  of  generations  yet  unborn, 
and  to  carry  down  to  a  distant  posterity  the  accents  of 
the  Love  of  God  and  the  Grace  of  Christ.  But  there 
must  be,  at  the  time  decreed  in  the  divine  counsels,  a 
last  generation.  Time  itself  must  have  an  end  ;  its  great 
clock  must  strike  the  Avorld's  last  hour,  and  then  run 
down.  And  this  will  be  at  the  second  coming  of  Our 
Lord  to  this  planet,  which  the  Church  should  live  in  con- 
stant expectation  of  and  preparation  for.  On  His  ar- 
rival, all  showing  forth  of  His  death  shall  cease,  as  it  is 
written  :  "  Ye  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  He 
come."  And  the  rationale  of  this  cessation  it  is  not 
difiicult  to  trace.  In  the  first  place,  the  memorial  of  an 
absent  friend  is  naturally  superseded  upon  his  return. 
"We  do  not  need  pictures,  or  rings,  or  tokens  of  affection, 
to  remind  us  of  those  who  are  constantly  by  our  sides  in 
the  daily  intercourse  of  life  ;  we  say  naturally  enough, 
"I  possess  himself;  I  do  not  need  his  picture."  Now 
12* 


274  Of  the  First  Part  [past 

so  far  as  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  memorial,  designed  to 
affect  our  minds  Avith  a  lively  remembrance  of  all  He  did 
and  suffered  for  us,  the  necessity  for  it  must  of  course  be 
superseded  by  His  return.  When  we  have  the  Bride- 
groom of  our  souls  amongst  us  again,  we  shall  not  need 
any  longer  the  picture,  the  token  which  Pie  left  behind. 
When  we  look  ivith  our  own  eyes  upon  the  marks  of  the 
nails  in  His  hands  and  feet,  and  on  the  spear-wound  in 
His  side,  what  need  of  the  broken  bread  and  outpoured 
wine  to  remind  us  of  those  precious  stigmata? 

But  we  have  already  intimated  more  than  once,  that 
the  Eucharist  has  several  higher  aspects  than  that  of  a 
memorial,  that  it  is  far  more  than  merely  a  means  of 
affecting  our  own  minds  by  a  sensible  representation  of 
Christ's  death.  Just  as  prayer  is  not  only  valuable  for 
its  efficacy  in  calming  the  spirit,  and  soothing  the 
troubled  heart,  not  only  valuable  as  a  conduit  whereby 
the  grace  of  God  is  conveyed  into  our  souls,  but  also  is 
to  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  homage,  and  thus  has  an  as- 
pect altogether  independent  of  human  wants  and  human 
infirmities  ;  so  tiie  Holy  Communion  is  not  only  valuable 
for  its  effects  upon  our  mind,  but  has  also  a  mysterious 
aspect  towards  God,  and  sounds  in  His  ears  as  in  the 
ears  of  man,  the  echo  of  His  Son's  One  Sacrifice.  And 
in  this  aspect  of  it  also  it  will  cease,  when  the  Lord  comes. 
For  sin  will  then  be  abolished  out  of  the  heart  of  God's 
people  ;  so  that  they  will  need  no  longer  the  pleading  of 
any  sacrifice  in  expiation  of  it.  And  as  regards  the  sin 
of  the  impenitent,  it  will  be  (as  I  have  said)  stereotyped 
in  the  transgressor ;  and  the  benefits  of  the  Sacrifice 
having  been  by  them  deliberately  refused,  there  will  no 
longer  remain  for  them  any  prospect  of  reconciliation. 
The  Eucharist .  is  bound  up  in  the  system  of  mediation 


IV.]  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration,  275 

between  God  and  man,  which  is  negotiated  by  the  Sac- 
rifice of  Christ ;  and  when  that  system  falls  to  the  ground, 
the  Eucharist  must  of  necessity  fall  with  it. 

In  the  clause  which  we  have  now  considered,  our 
Liturgy  seems  to  place  us  at  a  point  of  view  high  above 
the  course  of  Time,  at  which  we  may  contemplate  hu- 
man history  at  its  beginning  and  its  close,  and  see  the 
origin  and  the  issue  of  the  great  scheme  of  Salvation. 
In  the  centre  of  human  history  is  planted  the  Cross,  the 
alone  meritorious  cause  of  every  blessing  which  has 
reached  our  race.  But  this  Cross  we  see  to  have  been 
first  devised  in  the  counsels  of  Eternity, — devised,  long 
ages  before  it  was  erected,  by  the  tender  mercy  of  Our 
Heavenly  Father.  This  accursed  (and  yet  blessed) 
Tree  is  seen  bearing  its  beautiful  fruits  in  the  experience 
of  man  along  the  course  of  ages,  until  the  number  of  the 
elect  is  accomplished,  and  the  last  saved  soul  is  gathered 
into  the  garner  of  God.  Meanwhile  Hope  and  Memory, 
both  of  them  under  the  sanction  of  Divine  Ordinances, 
lead  up  to  this  central  point,  the  Cross,  and  find  life  and 
vigour  there.  Hope  is  nourished  by  the  sacrifices  of  the 
Jewish  ritual,  ordained  of  God  to  foreshadow  the  full, 
perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction 
which  Christ  made  upon  the  Tree.  Memory  is  nour- 
ished-by  the  Sacraments  of  the  Gospel,  ordained  to  rep- 
resent after  the  fact  the  very  event,  which  the  sacrifices 
had  before  represented  more  obscurely. 

Reader,  is  this  Death  our  one  point  of  sight,  as  it  is 
God's  ?  Do  we  live  in  it  in  any  true  sense  ;  derive  from 
it  strength  against  temptation,  energy  for  renewed  ef- 
forts, hope  in  difficulties,  comfort  in  troubles?  Is  it  a 
real  spring  of  moral  action  within  us,  the  strongest  in- 


276       Of  the  Consecration  of  the  Elements^     [pakt 

cenlive  to  holiness,  the  most  effectual  dissuasive  from 
sin?  O  God,  make  us  to  know  the  fellowship  of  Thy 
Son's  sufferings,  to  feel  the  power  of  His  death,  mortify- 
ing in  us  all  our  evil  and  corrupt  affections,  and  crucify- 
ing us  to  the  world  and  to  sin  ;  so  that,  when  He  shall 
appear,  we,  who  have  been  already  planted  together 
w^ith  Him  in  the  likeness  of  His  death,  may  be  also  in 
the  likeness  of  His  resurrection. 


LECTURE   V. 

OF  THE  CONSECRATION  OF  THE  ELEMENTS,  AND  THE 

OBLATION. 

**  jFor  ebcri)  creature  of  <Koti  is  flootr,  anti  notl)in3  to  fie  refuseti,  if 
it  fie  rcceibco  toitij  t1)anlts2ibing :  foi*  it  is  sanctift'eO  fi^  X\)Z 
SJ^oi-tJ  of  eSoti  nnti  33ra2cr."— 1  Tim.  iv.  4,  5. 

The  Body  of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration  consists  of 
three  members.  First :  the  history  of  the  Institution  is 
recited ;  and  the  very  actions  employed  by  Our  Lord  on 
the  occasion  are  repeated  in  the  course  of  this  recital,  the 
vessels  containino^  either  element  beinoj  taken  into  the 
hands  of  the  Priest,  the  Bread  being  broken  by  him,  and, 
finally,  his  hand  being  laid  upon  the  Bread  and  Cup,  as 
a  sign  that  they  are  now  blessed  and  hallowed.  Second- 
ly :  with  the  Bread  and  Wine,  thus  invested  with  a  new 
significance,  a  solemn  Memorial  of  the  Death  of  Christ  is 
made  before  God.  The  elements  are  offered  to  Him  in 
the  first  instance  (and  this  is  called  tlie  oblation)  before 
we  receive  them  back  from  Him,  blessed  and  sanctified 
to  the  highest  spiritual  use.     And  this  oblation  we  con- 


IV.]  *  and  the  Ohlation.  277 

ceive  to  be  (if  not  an  essential,  yet)  a  very  beautiful  and 
significant  part  of  the  great  Ritual.  We  conceive  that  it 
brings  out  in  high  relief  this  feature  of  the  Holy  Sac- 
rament, that  it  is  a  memorial  of  the  Sacrifice  of  Christ 
made  in  the  ears  of  God,  no  less  than  in  those  of  the 
Church.  "We  thus  plead  in  act  before  Him  what  we 
plead  verhally,  when  we  say  at  the  end  of  each  Prayer, 
"  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  The  Intercession  of 
Christ  above  keeps  alive  in  Heaven  the  memory  of  His 
Sacrifice  ;  and  the  making  of  this  memorial  upon  Earth 
is  a  note  which  vibrates  in  unison  with  that  Intercession. 
True  it  is,  of  course,  that  to  speak  of  recalling  the  past 
to  God's  memory  is  to  use  language  in  which  He  is 
accommodated  to  our  understandings  ;  but  as  He  Him- 
self condescends  to  use  such  language  in  Holy  Scripture, 
it  is  our  wisdom  to  accept  it  with  simplicity,  as  convey- 
ing to  us  the  most  accurate  notions  of  the  Truth  which 
we  are  capable  of  receiving.  Thirdly :  when  we  are 
about  to  receive  the  elements  back  from  God,  we  make 
an  Invocation  over  them  (a  form  used  in  the  earliest 
times  by  the  whole  of  the  Eastern,  and  a  great  part  of 
the  Western  Church),  praying  Him  to  ''bless  and  sanc- 
tify with  His  Word  and  Holy  Spirit  these  His  "  gifts 
and  creatures  of  Bread  and  Wine,"  so  that  they  may  be 
the  meaus  of  conveying  to  us  the  inward  spiritual  grace 
of  the  Sacrament,  to  the  strengthening  and  refreshing  of 
our  souls ;  "  that  we,  receiving  them  according  to  Thy 
Son  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ's  Holy  institution,  in  re- 
membrance of  His  Death  and  Passion,  may  be  partakers 
of  His  most  Blessed  Body  and  Blood." 

Now  both  the  recital  of  the  words  of  Institution,  and 
a  Prayer  of  this  general  purport,  have,  from  tlie  earliest 
ages  of  the  Church's  History,  been  considered  essential 


278      Of  the  Consecration  of  the  Elements^     [paet 

to  a  valid  consecration.  The  Roman  Church  in  this,  as 
in  so  many  other  points,  deviates  from  Primitive  Anti- 
qaity,  maintaining  that  Consecration  is  effected  by  a 
mere  repetition  of  the  words,  "  This  is  My  Body,"  "  This 
is  My  Blood."  And  as  it  is  not  unfrequently  the  case 
that  extremes  meet,  so  we  shall  find  here  that  sundry 
Protestant  sects,  who  have  gone  as  far  as  possible  from 
Rome  both  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  hold  the  recital  of 
the  words  of  Institution  to  be  the  only  requisite.  Our 
Church  holds  closer  both  to  primitive  practice,  and  to  the 
example  of  Our  Lord.  She  uses  a  "  Prayer  of  Conse- 
cration," implying  surely  by  the  very  title  that  Prayer  is 
essential ;  and  after  reciting  the  history  and  words  of 
the  Institution,  invokes  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  addresses 
to  our  Heavenly  Father  a  fervent  petition  for  the  great 
blessing  of  the  Ordinance.  St.  Paul  says,  in  reference  to 
our  ordinary  reception  of  food,  that  "  every  creature  of 
God  is  good,  and  nothing  to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received 
with  thanksgiving :  for  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of 
God  "  (that  is,  by  some  passage  of  Holy  Scripture  intro- 
duced into  the  Grace  before  Meat)  "  and  prayer."  And 
our  Church  holds,  as  the  early  Church  did,  that  this 
Heavenly  Food  must  be  sanctified  in  the  same  manner, 
not  only  by  reciting  from  the  Scriptures  the  very  words 
of  Institution,  but  also  by  thanksgiving  for  God's  tender 
mercy,  and  Christ's  all-sufficient  Sacrifice,  and  by  prayer^ 
that  this  Ordinance,  which  echoes  on  the  Sacrifice  to  the 
end  of  Time,  may  be  an  effectual  instrument  of  commu- 
nicating the  virtue  of  it  to  our  souls.  And  a  close  study 
of  Our  Lord's  practice  in  instituting  the  Holy  Supper 
leads  us  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  Evangelists  ex- 
pressly say  that  He  gave  thanks,  before  He  used  the 
words,  ''  This  is  My  Body,"  "  This  is  My  Blood  of  the 


IV.]  and  the  Oblation.  279 

Kcw  Testaraent," — addressing  Himself  to  God  over  the 
Bread  and  over  the  Cup  in  the  first  instance,  before  He 
gave  them  to  the  disciples  as  His  Body  and  Blood. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  what  has  been  said  is,  that 
an  address  to  God,  in  the  form  of  Prayer  and  Thanks- 
giving, has  from  the  earliest  times  been  regarded,  and 
justly  regarded,  as  essential  to  Consecration. 

To  some,  no  doubt,  the  point  will  seem  a  very  un- 
important one,  more  especially  if  they  are  unfamiliar  with 
the  history  of  Liturgical  controversy.  But  under  questions 
which  present  to  an  ordinary  mind  the  appearance  of 
being  mere  subtleties, — not  worth  the  raising,  and  cer- 
tainly not  worth  the  controverting, — there  occasionally 
lie  hid  great  principles,  which  are  at  issue ;  and  we 
believe  that  it  is  so  in  the  present  instance.  The  whole 
history  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  culminating  as  it  does  in 
the  error  of  Transubstantiation,  shows  a  sad  tendency  in 
the  human  mind  to  localize  and  materialize  the  blessing 
of  the  Ordinance, — I  mean  by  localizing  and  material- 
izing the  blessing,  the  placing  it  entirely  in  the  outward 
visible  sign,  the  imagining  some  mysterious  charm, — a 
virtue  half-physical,  half-spiritual, — to  reside  in  the 
crumbs  of  Bread,  and  in  the  drops  of  Wine.  The 
Lutheran  doctrine  of  Consubstantialion  is  quite  as  open 
to  this  charge  as  the  bolder  and  more  unreasonable 
error  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  And  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  many  members  of  our  own  Communion,  in 
the  views  they  take  of  the  subject,  attach  the  blessing  far 
too  little  to  the  Ordinance  itself,  and  far  too  exclusively 
to  the  sensible,  material  vehicle  of  the  Ordinance.  The 
mysterious  operation  upon  the  Bread  and  Wine,  by 
which  they  are  sanctified  for  their  high  significance  and 
office,  engrosses  in  their  minds  the  whole  field  of  view  ; 


280      Of  the  Consecration  of  the  Elements^     [paet 

9,Qd  the  operations  of  and  upon  the  human  spirit,  which 
the  Ordinance  is  designed  to  call  forth  and  develope,  go 
for  nothing  in  their  estimate.  The  natural  superstitious- 
ness  of  the  human  heart  (for  it  is  most  superstitious), 
gathers  round  the  material  and  local,  and  the  mental  and 
the  moral  are  thrown  into  the  background.  One  can 
fancy  a  similar  debasement  of  idea  in  connexion  with  the 
Person  of  Our  Blessed  Lord.  It  was,  of  course,  a  most 
exalted  privilege  to  the  Apostles,  and  the  source  of  great 
blessiugs  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Holy  Land,  among 
whom  He  went  about  doing  good,  to  have  Our  Lord  with 
them,  and  in  the  midst  of  them.  His  Sacred  Body  was 
the  source  of  natural  health  to  thousands  of  poor  patients 
who  touched  it,  and  His  teaching  was  the  source  of 
spiritual  health  to  those  who  listened  to  it.  But  supposing 
that  in  those  days  some  of  His  disciples  had  attached  to 
the  mere  Body  of  Our  Lord,  independently  of  any  action 
of  mind  on  the  part  of  those  who  heard  Him  and  applied 
to  Him,  the  blessings  of  His  Presence  in  the  world. 
Supposing  they  had  heeded  scarcely  at  all  the  gracious 
w^ords  which  fell  from  His  lips,  and  had  imagined  that 
the  mere  fact  of  His  neighbourhood  in  the  body  would 
prove  a  sort  of  talisman  of  health  to  the  whole  district  in 
which  He  sojourned.  Would  He  not  have  most  seriously 
reproved  such  notions?  Did  He  not  virtually  and 
implicitly  reprove  them,  when  He  required  faith  from 
all  patients  as  the  one  condition  of  their  cure,  that  is,  an 
operative  persuasion  of  the  mind  on  their  part  that  He 
was  able  and  willing  to  relieve  them  ?  In  no  case  does 
Christ  heal  without  this  preliminary  condition  ;  wherever 
persons  apply  to  Him  for  healing,  the  application  itself 
of  course  implies  the  persuasion  on  their  part ;  but  never 
is  the  healing  granted  as  the  mere  result  of  material  con- 


IV.]  and  the  Oblation.  281 

tact  with  His  Persoa.  Faith  and  Prayer  were  the  con- 
ductors, without  which  the  virtue  that  was  in  Him  could 
not  reach  the  bodies  of  the  suffering ;  an  awakened  mind 
and  a  docile  heart  were  the  conductors,  without  which 
the  spiritual  blessings  of  His  Divine  Ministry  were  not, 
and  could  not  be  realized.  Now  this  illustrates  very 
well  the  caution  we  are  now  attempting  to  give  in  refer- 
ence to  the  elements  in  the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  We 
need  not  deny,  rather  we  would  clearly  and  strongly 
affirm,  that  they  are  not  mere  symbols,  but  stand  in  some 
real,  though  mysterious  relation  to  the  blessing  of  the 
Ordinance*  Yet  we  say  that  the  blessing  is  not  to 
be  materialized,  or  supposed  to  reside  in  the  elements, 
after  the  manner  of  a  charm.  And  we  find  a  protest  to 
this  effect  in  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Consecration  of  the 
Elements.  The  mere  recital  of  the  formulary,  the  mere 
contact  of  the  hands,  is  not  sufficient  by  itself, — ^has 
never  in  the  best  and  purest  times  been  held  sufficient, — 
to  that  Consecration.  They  are  sanctified  by  the  Prayer 
and  Thanksgiving  which  accompanies  their  Consecra- 
tion,— the  offering  of  which  implies  Faith,  the  only 
avenue  by  which  any  blessing  can  reach  the  human  soul. 
When  we  lift  up  our  hearts  to  God  over  a  common  meal, 
in  acknowledgment  of  His  Bounty  in  spreading  our  board 
with  daily  food  convenient  for  us,  by  this  action  of  the 
mind  we  sanctify  His  good  gifts  to  our  use.  And  on  a 
similar  principle,  when  over  the  oblation  of  Bread  and 
Wine,  destined  to  become  the  Symbols  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ,  we  raise  up  all  our  thoughts,  desires, 
and  affections  to  God,  and  implore  Him  to  make  us  par- 
takers thereby  of  the  benefits  of  the  Great  Sacrifice, 
reciting  over  them  at  the  same  time  the  history  of 
Christ's   Institution, — this   is   the   Consecration   of    the 


282       Of  the  ConssGration  of  the  Elements,    [paut 

Elements,  whereby  they  are  sanctified  to  that  high  and 
holy  use  which  they  fulfil  towards  us.  How  important, 
then,  at  this  culminating  period  of  the  rite,  is  a  spirit  of 
fervent,  earnest,  believing  Prayer,  ofi^ered  with  all  our 
heart,  and  soul,  and  strength  !  And  in  order  to  the  due 
maintenance  of  this  spirit,  we  must  not  only  stir  up  our- 
selves to  pray,  chiding  our  own  hearts  for  their  indifier- 
ence  and  insensibility,  and,  if  I  may  so  say,  following 
hard  after  God,  but  also  must  study  beforehand  the 
words  appointed  for  our  use,  so  that  we  may  pray  with 
the  understanding,  a&  well  as  with  the  spirit. 

II.  But  we  must  now  say  a  word  upon  the  earlier 
part  of  the  Consecration,  which  is  admitted  on  all  hands 
to  be  essential ; — and  this  is  the  recital  of  the  history  of 
the  Institution,  comprising  our  Lord's  words  and  actions 
on  that  occasion.  The  creatures  of  God  (says  St.  Paul) 
"  are  sanctified,"  and  made  fit  for  man's  use,  "  by  the 
Word  of  God  and  Prayer," — not  by  Prayer  only,  but  by 
the  Word  of  God  and  Prayer.  I  have  already  intimated 
that  by  the  word  of  God  is  here  meant,  in  all  probability, 
some  appropriate  passage  of  Holy  Wi*it  woven  into  the 
Grace  or  Prayer  of  Tlianksgiving,  as  for  example  tlie 
following :  "  The  eyes  of  all  wait  upon  Thee,  O  Lord ; 
and  Thou  givest  them  their  meat  in  due  season.  Thou 
openest  Thine  hand  and  fiUest  all  things  living  with 
plenteousness."  Over  this  Heavenly  Food,  then,  in 
accordance  with  the  Apostolic  precept  for  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  our  ordinary  meals,  are  recited  the  Avords  by 
which  Christ  first  instituted  the  Supper, — a  fragment  this, 
and  a  most  precious  fragment,  of  the  true  Word  of  God. 
Very  much  as  in  the  Solemnization  of  Marriage  the 
words  are  rehearsed  by  which  He  engrafted  that  primi- 
tive Ordinance  into  His  new  Law :   "  What  therefore 


IV.]  and  the  Oblation.  283 

God  hatli  joiued  together,  let  no  man  put  asunder  ;  "  so 
here  also  the  rehearsal  of  His  words  of  Institution, 
"  This  is  my  Body,  which  is  given  for  you  ;  "  "  This  is 
my  Blood  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is  shed  for  you," 
accomplish  and  render  perfect  the  great  Solemnity. 

One  word  remains  to  be  said  respecting  the  actions 
which  are  used  during  the  rehearsal  of  the  words  of 
Institution.  These  also  are  founded  on  the  example  of 
our  Lord,  Who  took  the  Bread  and  Cup  into  His  Hand, 
and  broke  the  Bread,  before  giving  it  to  His  disciples. 
It  is  observable  that,  in  prescribing  these  actions,  our 
Ritual  is  more  minute  and  particular  than  that  of  the 
mediaeval  Church  or  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  With 
regard  to  the  breaking  of  the  Bread,  the  latter  has 
deviated  remarkably  from  the  primitive  Institution,  and 
from  the  Scriptural  significance  of  the  action,  prescribing 
only  the  breaking  of  a  single  wafer  into  three  parts,  two 
of  which  parts  are  consumed  by  the  Priest,  and  the  third 
dropped  into  the  wine, — none  of  them  given  to  the  peo- 
ple. Now  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  breaking  of 
the  bread  was,  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  reckoned  so 
characteristic  a  feature  of  this  Sacrament,  that  in  the 
New  Testament  it  goes  under  the  Name  of  "  the  break- 
ing of  bread  ;  "  and  that  this  breaking  was  for  the  pur- 
pose, not  only  of  signifying  the  Death  of  Christ,  but  also 
of  distribution  among  the  communicants,  is  abundantly 
clear  from  the  words  of  St.  Paul :  ''  For  we  being  many 
are  one  bread  "  (one  cake  or  loaf),  "  and  one  body ;  for 
we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one  loaf."  In  other  words, 
the  sacred  Loaf,  which  represents  and  conveys  the  Body 
of  Christ,  is  one  ;  and  a  portion  of  it,  after  it  has  been 
broken,  passes  into  each  communicant,  who  thereupon 
is  made  one  with  the  Body  of  Christ  or  Christian  Society. 


284:       Of  the  ConseGration  of  the  Elements,     [paet 

If  the" Bread  be  not  really  broken  and  distributed,  we 
lose  altogether  the  significance  of  our  having  fellowship 
one  with  another  in  this  Sacrament,  in  the  one  Body  of 
Christ.  See  how  the  trifling  with  the  little  details  of  a 
Divine  Institution  may  entirely  obscure  the  great  spirit- 
ual lessons,  which  are  to  be  drawn  from  it,  and  obliterate 
one  of  its  leading  features.  For  that  the  Lord's  Supper 
is  a  Sacrament  not  only  of  Christ's  Death,  but  of  the 
fellowship  which  in  Him  we  have  one  with  another,  is 
certainly  one  of  its  most  interesting  and  important 
aspects.  One  loaf  has  been  broken  among  all  of  us, — • 
partaken  of  by  all, — aiid  has  been  the  means,  if  faithfully 
partaken  of,  of  incorporating  us  into  the  One  Body  of 
Christ.  What  circumstance  can  teach  ns  more  forcibly 
how  utterly  out  of  harmony  we  are  wdth  the  spirit  of  the 
Ordinance,  if  there  rankle  at  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  a 
single  particle  of  ill-will,  or  hostility  towards  any  of  our 
brethren  ?  What  can  teach  us  more  forcibly  that  a  real 
participation  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  will  be 
attended  with  an  increai'e  of  love  to  our  brethren,  with  a 
greater  forbearance  towards  their  infirmities,  and  a  more 
tender  and  unselfish  consideration  for  their  feelings  and 
prejudices?  And  indeed  by  considering  how  far  we 
have  advanced  in  brotherly  kindness  and  charity,  we 
may  test  not  only  our  growth  in  grace  generally,  but  also 
the  amount  of  profit  which  we  have  derived  from  this 
blessed  Sacrament.  It  is  a  very  practical  and  intelligi- 
ble test ;  and  one  which  gives  us  perhaps  fewer  openings 
than  any  other  to  deceive  ourselves.  We  may  be  quite 
sure  that  Divine  Love  is  not  really  strengthened  and 
matured  within  us,  unless  brotherly  love  has  made  a 
corresponding  growth.  For  these  are  two  twins,  which 
bave  a  living  ligament  passing  from  the  heart  of  the  one 


IV.']  and  the  Oblation,  285 

to  that  of  the  other, — a  Ho:ament  which  gives  them  a 
sympathy,  so  that  the  health  or  decline  of  the  one  is 
instantly  felt  by  the  other.  '•  He  that  loveth  not  his 
brother,  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love  God,  whom 
he  hath  not  seen  ?  " 

We  must  now  trace  the  leading  ideas  brought  before 
the  mind  in  the  conclusion  of  this  Prayer,  and  their  con- 
nexion with  the  earlier  part  of  it.  We  have  made  the 
memorial  of  the  Sacrifice  of  Christ  before  God ;  and 
have  petitioned  that  by  a  due  participation  of  this  Ordi- 
*  nance  we  may  reap  all  the  benefits  of  His  Sacrifice. 
What  can  be  more  appropriate  than  that  we  should  be 
reminded  that  the  Sacrifice  of  Christ,  if  really  embraced 
by  us,  will  not  stand  alone  ;  that  we  too,  having  been 
washed  in  His  Blood,  and  made  kings  and  priests  to  God 
and  His  Father,  must  have,  as  priests,  "  somewhat  to 
offer,"  based  upon  the  ground  of  His  perfect  and  alone 
meritorious  Sacrifice?  Accordingly,  this  "somewhat" 
here  comes  into  view.  It  is,  first,  praise  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, drawn  forth  from  the  heart  and  lips  by  the  sense  of 
God's  pardoning  love.  "  We  earnestly  desire  Thy  fa- 
therly goodness  mercifully  to  accept  this  our  sacrifice 
of  praise  and  thanksgiving."  But  praise  is  not  the  only 
ofiering  required  of  us.  In  every  fresh  act  of  Holy 
Communion  there  is  a  renewal  of  our  Baptismal  Covenant 
with  God.  And  this  Covenant  is  all  summed  up  in  one 
word,  "  self-sacrifice."  We  were  in  Baptism  solemnly 
consecrated  to  God,  both  in  body  and  soul.  We  repeat 
that  self-consecration  in  the  Holy  Communion.  And 
these  are  the  words  in  which  we  repeat  it :  ••'  Here  we 
offer  and  present  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  ourselves,  our 
souls  and  bodies,  to  be  a  reasonable,  holy,  and  living 
sacrifice  unto  Thee."     As  our  Blessed  Lord,  after  insti- 


286  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist.        [paet 

tuting  the  Holy  Supper,  sanctified  or  consecrated  Himself 
(see  John  xvii.  19)  to  do  God's  will  on  the  Cross,  and  to 
"  make  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblaticm,  and 
satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  ;  "  so  we  also,  in 
making  the  memorial  of  His  Death,  yield  ourselves  sol- 
emnly unto  God  "  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the. dead, 
and  our  members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto 
God."  And  the  thought  should  follow  us  into  our  daily 
life,  that  we  have  put  ourselves,  and  all  that  we  have,  at 
God's  disposal,  our  hands  to  do  His  business,  our  feet  to 
walk  on  His  errands,  our  eyes  to  study  His  works,  our  ears 
to  listen  to  His  Word,  our  mouths  to  speak  His  praise, 
our  minds  to  apprehend  His  Glory,  our  hearts  to  love 
His  Perfections. 


LECTURE    yi. 

THE    DOCTRINE     OF    THE    EUCHARIST. 

**  2rt)e  Clip  of  ftlcssiufl  tol)ic|)  toe  bless,  is  it  not  tf)e  communion  of  tfte 
33loot»  of  (Kfjrist?  S:i)c  iireDiti  toMc!)  toe  breaS;,  is  it  not  tjje 
communipn  of  t|)e  JSotrg  of  ^ftvist?  *' — 1  Cok.  x.  16. 

The  history  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  as  given  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  in  the  Epistles,  may  be  said  to 
be  a  model  and  miniature  of  all  that  was  to  come  after 
in  Ecclesiastical  History.  In  the  Apostles  and  their  as- 
sociates we  find  patterns  of  the  difiTerent  characters  and 
endowments  of  Christians  down  to  the  end  of  time  ;  after 
ages  only  offering  feebler  repetitions  of  what  those  holy 
men  were.  In  St.  John,  the  devout  and  meditative 
Christian ;  in  St.   Paul,  the  extensively  active  and  in- 


IV.]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist.  287 

fluential  Christian ;  in  St.T'eter,  the  enthusiastic  Chris- 
tian, with  strong  will  and  abilities  for  administration  ;  in 
Barnabas,  the  quiet  and  gentle  Cliristian,  whose  voice 
soothes  the  mourner  ;  in  Apollos,  the  eloquent  teacher, 
who  kindles  with  his  lofty  theme  ;  in  Timotheus,  the 
disciple  who  has  imbibed  the  principles  of  true  religion 
from  a  mother's  precepts,  combined  with  a  mother's 
prayers, — are  respectively  exemplified.  And  as  it  is 
with  characters,  so  it  is  with  heresies,  contradictions, 
controversies,  and  movements  in  the  Church.  A  little 
model  and  miniature  of  all  these  movements  (very  per- 
fect and  exact  as  models  and  miniatures  are)  is  to  be 
found  in  the  primitive  ChurSh,  while  yet  it  was  under 
inspired  government.  There  was  a  Rationalistic  party 
in  the  Sadducees.  And  there  was  a  Romanizing  party, — 
Romanizing,  I  mean,  in  tendency  and  spirit,  before  the 
Church  of  Rome  was  ever  heard  of, — among  the  Phari- 
sees. There  was  a  strong  Antinomian  party,  denounced 
and  censured  by  St.  James.  There  was  a  strong  party 
who  stood  up  for  justification  by  human  merit,  demol- 
ished a  thousand  times  over  by  St.  Paul,  so  that  one 
would  think  (although  the  event  has  not  justified  the 
anticipation)  that  they  never  could  have  held  up  their 
heads  again.  There  was  a  philosophical  party  called 
Gnostics,  who  adulterated  the  faith  by  spurious  admix- 
tures of  Rabbinical  and  Oriental  speculations,  against 
whom  St.  John,  the  great  speculative  divine  of  Inspira- 
tion, directed  all  his  strength.  And,  finalyl,  there  was 
in  those  days  the  Free-grace  and  Free-will  controversy 
(called  in  these  modern  times  Calvinistic  and  Arrainian), 
which  the  holy  Apostles  left  without  any  logical  adjust- 
ment, making  statements  Avhich  looked  in  both  direc- 
tions ;  so  that  the  result  of  all  Biblical  research  on  that 


288  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist.        [pakt 

moot  point  has  been  well  anfl  tersely  summed  up  thus : 
''  Calvinists  and  Arminians  are  both  right  and  both 
wrong  ;  they  are  right  in  what  they  assert,  and  wrong  in 
what  they  deny." 

And  was  there  any  controversy  on  the  subject  of  the 
Eucharist  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  as  there  has  been 
much  since  ?  No  formal  controversy  on  this  great  sub- 
ject even  showed  its  head, — much  less  came  to  a  crisis, 
till  the  eighth  century  of  the  Christian  Era.  But  still 
there  were  the  elements  of  Eucharist  controversy  in  the 
Apostolic  Church,  though  they  were  not  for  a  long  time 
to  receive  their  full  devel^Dment.  Modern  views  on  the 
subject  err  either  in  excess  or  defect ;  the  Lord's  Supper 
is  either  unduly  exalted  (which  is  the  tendency  of  all 
Roman  and  Romanizing  Theology),  or  unduly  depre- 
ciated (which  is  the  error  of  the  Protestant  sects).  Now 
it  is  clear  that  the  last  of  these  errors  found  itself  rep- 
resented in  the  Corinthian  Church  in  the  time  of  St. 
Paul.  Their  flagrant  desecration  of  the  Ordinance  could 
not  possibly  have  consisted  with  any  high  view  of  it. 
Those  who  snatched  their  own  portion  of  the  common 
Supper,  before  the  communicants  had  fully  assembled, 
and  the  entertainment  had  been  formally  opened,  could 
not  have  regarded  with  much  reverence  the  sacred  In- 
stitution, which  was  to  form  part  of  that  supper.  They 
looked  upon  it  too  familiarly  (though  one  would  think 
the  very  solemn  words  of  Institution  would  have  acted 
as  a  sufficient  safeguard  against  desecration)  ;  the  Or- 
dinance had  dropped  in  their  estimation  to  the  level  of  a 
very  common  thing.  Accordingly,  St.  Paul  sets  himself 
to  put  it  on  a  higher  level  in  their  minds,  that  it  might 
be  out  of  reach  of  their  desecration.     For  befol-e   he 


IV.]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  289 

enters  on  their  abuse  of  "it  iu  the  eleventh  Chapter,  he 
expounds,  in  another  connexion,  the  nature  and  dignity 
of  the  Sacrament  in  the  tenth  :  "•  The  cup  of  blessino- 
which  we  bless,  is  it  not  the  Communion  of  the  Blood  of 
Christ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Body  of  Christ?"  And  still  in  the  ^ 
eleventh  Chapter  he  harps  on  the  dignity  of  the  Ordi- 
nance ;  he  speaks  of  their  eating  and  drinking  unwor- 
thily, in  consequence  of  their  not  discerning  the  Lord's 
Body,  i.  e.  not  appreciating  the  mystery  of  it,  not  dis- 
tinguishing between  it  and  a  common  meal.  And  the 
guilt  incurred  by  an  irreverent  and  undiscriminating  re- 
ception is  painted  by  him  in  these  frightfully  strong 
colours  :  "  Whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread  and  drink  this 
cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  Body 
aud  Blood  of  th^  Lord.""  And  he  points  out  that  this 
guilt  would  be,  and  in  their  case  had  been,  followed  by 
certain  temporal  judgments  of  God  upon  the  offenders, 
sickness  and  death,  which  judgments,  he  says,  were  cor- 
rective, and  designed  to  bring  the  Corinthian  Church  to  a 
right  mind.  "  For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unwor- 
thily, eateth  and  drinketh"  (the  word  "  damnation"  in 
our  Authorized  Version,  wliich  has  given  rise  to  so  much 
false  alarm,  is  well  known  by  all  scholars  to  be  a  thor- 
oughly inaccurate  rendering)  "  a  judgment  unto  him- 
self." The  kind  of  judgment  is  immediately  explained 
in  the  verse  next  following  :  "  For  this  cause  many  are 
weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and  many  sleep  "  (i.  e. 
sleep  in  death).  And  the  merciful  design  of  the  judg- 
ment (which  was  in  order  to  avert  eternal  condemna- 
tion) is  subjoined :  "  But  when  we  are  judged,  we  are 
chastened  of  the  Lord,  that  we  should  not  be  condemned  " 


13 


290  The  Doci/rine  of  the  Eucha/rist,         [paet 

(here  the  word  "  condemned"  is  perfectly  right)  "  with 
the  world." 

Now  this  manner  of  writing  on  the  part  of  St.  Paul, 
— ^the  Apostle,  generally  speaking,  not  so  much  of  Ordi- 
nance as  of  Faith, — gave  the  first  impulse  to  a  reaction 
in  the  minds  of  Christians  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  His  Apostolic  word  had  disentangled  the 
Eucharist  from  the  Supper  with  which  it  was  once  asso- 
ciated, and  placed  it  in  a  shrine  of  its  own;  had  de- 
clared its  true  nature  as  a  participation  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ ;  and  had  pointed  out  the  sad  consequen- 
ces of  desecrating  it.  From  that  time  forth,  there  arose 
in  the  Church  a  strong  tendency  to  exalt  the  Eucharist, 
which,  like  most  strong  tendencies,  became,  as  time 
went  on,  grossly  exaggerated,  and  resulted  at  length  in 
what  may  be  rightly  called  the  deification  of  the  Ordi- 
nance. Thus  in  the  Apostolic  Church  we  find  a  party, 
which  irreverently  derogated  from  the  dignity  of  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  and  we  also  find,  in  St.  Paul's  censure 
of  this  party,  the  origin  of  the  tendency  which  resulted 
in  an  undue  exaltation  of  it.  *  For  indeed,  in  that  Apos- 
tolic Church,  as  I  have  said,  were  the  seeds  of  all  future 
Ecclesiastical  History. 

It  will  be  well,  in  endeavouring  to  expound  the 
Scriptural  and  Church  of  England  doctrine  of  the  Eucha- 
rist, to  state  briefly  and  clearly  the  two  extreme  views 
(you  may  call  them,  for  the  sake  of  a  name,  the  Pation- 
alizing  and  Pomanizing  views)  between  which  the  truth 
lies.  And  may  God  help  me,  by  the  light  of  His  Spirit, 
to  a  clear  exposition,  and  you  to  a  clear  understanding 
of  this  matter,  for  His  Son's  sake  ! 

1.  What  may  be  called  the  Pationalizing  view  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  acknowledges  no  mystery  in  the  transac- 


IV.]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist.  291 

tion.  It  is  all,  accordiog  to  this  view,  as  plain  as  day. 
Just  as  a  dying  father  gathers  his  children  round  his 
deathbed,  and  gives  them  each  his  blessing,  and  puts  into 
the  hand  of  each  some  little  token  by  which,  when  he  is 
gone,  they  may  call  him  to  mind,  so,  it  is  said,  the  Ever- 
lustins:  Father,  when  on  the  eve  of  leavino^  those  whom 
He  so  lovingly  called  His  "  little  children,"  instituted  a 
certain  rite  for  their  observance,  Avhich  rite  was  purely 
and  merely  commemorative,  answered  (and  was  de- 
signed to  answer)  no  other  purpose  towards  them  than 
that  of  reminding  them  in  a  lively  manner,  through  the 
senses,  of  the  blessed  Body,  which  had  been  broken,  and 
the  precious  Blood,  which  had  been  spilled  for  them.  No 
one  denies,  you  will  observe,  that  this  commemoration  is 
one  great  object  of  the  Holy  Communion.  But  the  di- 
vines whose  views  we  are  now  representing,  maintain 
this  to  have  been  its  exclusive  object,  and  that  this  ac- 
count of  the  Ordinance  exhausts  the  subject.  With  re- 
gard to  the  words  of  Institution  :  "  This  is  my  Body  ; " 
"  This  is  my  Blood  ;  "  it  is  maintained  that  they  are  to 
be  taken  figuratively:  "  This  Bread  is  a  figure  of  my 
Body,"  "  This  Wine  is  a  figure  of  my  Blood ;  "  and  in- 
stances are  adduced  from  the  Scriptures,  where  the  sub- 
'Stantive  verb  "  is  "  has  a  similar  meaning  to  that  which 
is  here  imposed  upon  it ;  as  for  example,  "  The  seven 
good  kine  are  seven  years  "  (that  is,  represent,  or  stand 
for,  seven  years)  ;  '•  The  seed  is  the  word  of  God ; " 
"  The  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world  "  (meaning  that 
the  seed  and  the  harvest,  in  the  parables  where  they 
occur,  represent,  respectively,  the  Word  of  God  and  the 
end  of  the  world)  ;  and  so  forth. 

Now,  perhaps,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Apostle  Paul, 
we  might  tliink  this  view  capable  of  a  tolerable  reconcil- 


292  The  Doctrine  of  the  MMcharist.         [paet 

iation  with  Holy  Scripture.  He,  however,  was  ap- 
pointed by  God  to  bring  out  more  clearly,  and  define 
more  exactly,  the  Avords  of  Institution,  Avhich  his  Divine 
Master  had  employed.  And  be  it  observed  that  St. 
Paul's  style  of  writing  is  not  imaginative  or  rhetorical, 
but  logical,  closely  argued,  and,  generally  speaking,  as 
far  removed  as  possible  from  the  figurative.  Thus  he 
paraphrases  (and  in  paraphrasing  points  out  the  true 
force  of)  the  words,  in  which  the  Ordinance  had  been 
instituted.  "  The  Cup  of  Blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it 
not  the  Communion "  (mutual  or  reciprocal  participa- 
tion) "of  the  Blood  of  Christ?  The  Bread  which  we 
break,  is  it  not  the  Communion  of  the  Body  of  Christ?  " 
He  does  not  say,  "Is  it  not  a  figure  or  representa- 
tion of  the  Blood  and  Body  of  Christ"  (though  this 
would  have  been  perfectly  intelligible  and  perfectly 
true)  ;  his  words  go  far  beyond  this  in  strength  and  mys- 
teriousness ;  he  says,  "  Is  it  not  a  communication  of^  a 
means  of  iparticipating  in,  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ  ?  "  Now  what  is  the  utmost  you  could  say  Avitli 
truth  of  the  miniature  of  a  deceased  parent?  You  might 
say,  no  doubt,  "  This  miniature  reminds  me  of  my  dear 
father  and  mother,  and  brings  back  especially  to  my 
mind  that  painful  hour  when  they  forsook  me,  having 
first  committed  me  to  His  care,  who  is  the  Protector  of 
orphans."  But  no  man,  speaking  prose  and  sober  sense, 
could  possibly  say  of  such  a  miniature  :  "  My  looking 
on  this  miniature  is  a  means,  whereby  I  hold  intercourse 
with  the  spirit  of  my  departed  parent  in  Paradise."  It 
Is  perhaps  just  conceivable  that  in  very  highflown  and 
extravagant  poetry  some  such  idea  might  be  insinuated  ; 
but  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  is  not  poetry ;  and 
even  if  it  were,  where  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  speaker, 


IV.]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  293 

and  tlie  faitli  of  the  Catholic  Church  on  the  most  import- 
ant Ordinance  of  Religion  is  the  thing  to  be  determined 
by  His  verdict,  His  speech  will  surely  be  in  all  truth,  and 
soberness,  and  exactitude. 

Thus  the  view  that  the  Eucharistic  Rite  is  simply 
commemorative,  and  the  Consecrated  Elements  merely 
figures,  is  excluded  bX,  once  and  for  ever  by  the  plain 
language  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

And  our  Church  faithfully  and  devoutly  echoes  his 
language,  telling  us  in  the  Twenty-eighth  Article,  that 
"  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  is  not  only  a  sign  of  the  love 
that  Christians  ought  to  have  among  themselves  one  to 
another ;  but  rather  is  a  Sacrament  of  our  Redemption 
by  Christ's  death  ;  insomuch  that  to  such  as  rightly, 
worthily,  and  with  faith  receive  the  same,  the  Bread 
which  we  break  is  a  partaking  of  the  Body  of  Christ ; 
and  likewise,  the  Cup  of  Blessing  is  a  partaking  of  the 
Blood  of  Christ." 

2.  We  now  come  to  the  Romanizing  view  of  the 
Eucharist,  which  culminates,  or  finds  its  extreme  form, 
in  the  dogma  called  "  Transubstantiation."  I  will  rep- 
resent, as  shortly  and  plainly  as  I  can,  what  well-in- 
structed Romanists  mean  by  that  dognla,  observing,  first, 
that  their  views  ,on  this,  and  other  points  of  Theology, 
are  often  much  misapprehended  and  misrepresented  by 
Protestants. 

Transubstantiation,  as  our  Twenty-eighth  Article  well 
defines  it,  means  the  "  change  of  llie,  substance  of  Bi-ead 
and  Wine  in  the  Supper  of  the  Lord."  Observe :  the 
change  of  the  suhstance,  not  thp  change  of  the  phenomena. 
There  is  one  great  change  of  natural  substance,  recorded 
in  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  which  may  help  us  to  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  matter  in  hand.     At  the  weddins: 


294  Tlie  Doctrine  of  the  Eitcharist,  [paet 

of  Cana  in  Galilee,  our  Lord  changed  water  into  wine, — 
into  wine  of  a  quality  and  flavour  superior  to  any  whicli 
the  guests  had  yet  partaken  of.  Now  if  we  were  to  ask 
a  Romanist  whether  the  change  effected  in  the  elements 
by  the  Priest's  consecration  of  them  is  of  the  same  kind 
as  the  change  which  passed  upon  the  water  in  the  six 
waterpots  of  stone  at  Cana,  he  would  say,  because  in 
truth  he  could  say  nothing  else,  "  Not  exactly.  I  believe 
that  the  transformation  wrought  by  the  Priest  is  as  great 
a  miracle  as  that  wrought  by  Our  Lord  on  the  occasion 
you  refer  to,  but  not  as  capable  of  being  appreciated  by  the 
senses.  The  water  at  Cana,  when  changed  into  wine, 
had  the  taste  and  colour  of  wine.  Whereas  the  bread 
and  wine  after  consecration,  though  changed  (as  I  be- 
lieve) into  the  literal  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  still  re- 
tain the  taste  and  colour  of  Bread  and  Wine.  It  is  the 
substance  which  I  believe  to  be  changed,  not  the  phe- 
nomena which  meet  the  senses.  Every  thing  which  meets 
the  senses  remains  just  as  it  was  before."  In  short,  the 
Romanist  avails  himself  of  an  old  philosophical  distinc- 
tion broached  by  Aristotle,  and  gravely  questioned  in 
modern  times  by  Locke,  between  the  substance  and  the 
accidents  in  things  material.  All  matter  was  supposed 
to  have,  in  addition  to  those  properties  which  reach  the 
senses  (such  as  shape,  colour,  smell,  taste,  consistency, 
and  so  forth),  some  inward  nucleus  or  substance,  which 
could  neither  be  seen,  heard,  tasted,  smelt,  nor  felt. 
This  old  philosophical  distinction  was  found  a  mighty 
convenience  by  liomari  Divines.  For  when  their  adver- 
saries asked  them  how  the  Bread  and  Wine  could  be 
changed  into  Flesh  and  Blood,  without  having  the  ap- 
pearance and  taste  of  flesh  and  blood,  they  furbished  up 
Aristotle's   old   distinction,    and   made   a    controversial 


IV.]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist.  295 

■weapon  out  of  it,  saying  that  the  substance  of  the  Bread 
and  Wine  was  changed  into  another  substance,  but  that 
the  phenomena,  that  is,  the  taste,  the  smell,  the  colour, 
the  consistency,  remain  the  same  as  ever.  And  this  is 
the  form  in  which  the  Council  of  Trent  has  stereotyped 
the  dogma. 

Of  this  dogma  our  Church  most  wisely  says,  first, 
that  it  cannot  be  proved  by  Holy  Writ.  It  is  of  course 
utterly  vain  to  seek  in  Scripture  for  the  absurd  philosoph- 
ical distinctions  and  technicalities,  which  constitute 
the  real  ground  of  the  Romanist's  position.  Scripture 
gives  us  food  for  the  heart,  not  metaphysical  cobwebs  to 
entangle  the  mind. — But  there  is  another  and  most  fatal 
objection  to  the  acceptance  of  any  such  distinctions ; 
which  is  this.  Once  grant  that  things  are  not  what  they 
seem  to  be,  and  that  habitually  the  human  senses  are 
imposed  upon  by  the  appearance  of  bread  and  wine, 
where  there  is  really  nothing  but  Flesh  and  Blood  ;  and 
you  cut  away  the  evidence  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ, 
and-^o  supplant  the  whole  of  Christianity.  Has  not  God 
consecrated  the  evidence  of  our  senses,  by  resting  the 
proof  of  the  Resurrection  of  His  dear  Son  on  the  tes- 
timony of  veracious  persons,  who  saw  Him  and  ate  with 
Him  after  He  was  risen  ?  And  if  God  has  consecrated 
this  evidence,  am  I  at  liberty  to  tamper  with  it  by  fool- 
ish subtleties,  which  open  a  breach  in  the  fortress  of 
Christianity,  whereby  the  infidel  may  easily  enter? 

Kext,  our  Church  asserts  that  it  is  "  repugnant  to  the 
plain  words  of  Scripture."  So  far  from  being  annihi- 
lated by  Consecration  (as  the  Romanists  pretend),  the 
bread  is  expressly  called  "bread"  by  St.  Paul  after 
Consecration  :  •'  As  often  as  ye  cat  this  bread,  and  drink 
this  cup,  ye  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  Death  till  He 


296  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist.  [paet 

come."  "  Whosoever  shall  eat  this  hread^  and  drink 
this  cup  of  the  Lord,  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord."  And  if  the  words  are  to 
be  so  literally  pressed,  we  must,  according  to  one  version 
of  them,  say  that  the  cup  is  the  New  Testament,  which  is 
a  reductio  ad  ahsurdum  of  the  whole  principle  of  interpre- 
tation. And  further,  in  Our  Lord's  first  administration 
of  the  Ordinance,  how  could  the  Bread,  which  He  held 
in  His  hand,  be  His  Body  in  the  literal  and  carnal  sense 
of  the  words  ?  which  single  argument  ought  for  ever  to 
have  put  to  flight  so  monstrous  an  absurdity. 

Finally  :  our  Church  asserts  that  "  Transubstantia- 
tion  overthroweth  the  nature  of  a  Sacrament."  For  a 
Sacrament  has  two  parts,  "  an  outward  visible  sign,  and 
an  inward  spiritual  grace."  And  if  you  maintain  that 
the  substance  of  Bread  and  Wine  is  annihilated  in  the 
Lord's  Supper  (which  the  Romanists  pretend)  you  leave 
only  the  thing  signified,  and  destroy  the  sign. 

What  then  is  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist, 
moving  between  these  two  extremes, — the  doctrine  an- 
nounced by  Holy  Scripture,  and  faithfully  echoed  by  our 
Church?  Nothing  more  nor  less  than  this,  that  "the 
Cup  of  Blessing  which  we  bless,  is  the  Communion " 
(means  of  participating  in)  "  of  the  Blood  of  Christ ;  and 
that  the  Bread  which  we  break,  is  thc'  Communion" 
(means  of  participating  in)  "  of  the  Body  of  Christ." 
The  elements  are  the  medium  of  our  Communion  with 
Christ  in  some  way  altogether  mysterious,  supersensual, 
heavenly,  and  divine, — not  to  be  comprehended  by  the 
human  reason,  and  therefore  not  to  be  expressed  by 
human  definitions.  If  it  be  asked  what  it  is  which  gives 
the  elements  this  character,  the  answer  is,  beyond  the 


rv\]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  297 

shadow  of  a  doubt,  the  Consecration.  Why  are  we 
afraid  of  the  Apostle's  own  words,  because  Rome  has 
perverted  them?  "The  Cup  of  Blessing,  which  we 
bless"  (there  is  the  Consecration),  "is  it  not"  (in 
virtue  of  such  Blessing)  "  the  Communion  of  the  Blood 
of  Christ?"  "The  Bread  which  we  break"  (and 
the  Bread  is  broken  in  the  course  of  the  Prayer  of 
Consecration),  "  is  it  not  the  Communion  of  the  Body  of 
Christ  ?  "  Why  should  we  be  afraid  of  the  precise  and 
admirable  language  of  our  own  Twenty-eighth  Article  : 
"  The  Body  of  Christ  is  given  in  the  Supper  "  (observe, 
the  words  are  "  given,  taken,  and  eaten  ;  "  and  it  is  clear 
from  the  following  paragraph,  w^here  the  taking  and 
eating-  only — not  the  giving — are  said  to  be  by  faith,  that 
the  "  giving  "  must  be  by  Consecration)  "  only  after  an 
heavenly  and  spiritual  manner  "  ?  If  it  be  asked  what  it 
is  in  us,  which  lays  hold  of  this  Gift,  appropriates  it, 
assimilates  it,  makes  it  a  strength  and  a  refreshment  to 
the  soul,  the  answer  is  perfectly  clear  :  "  Faith."  With- 
out Faith  there  is  no  blessing,  and  no  receptivity  of  bless- 
ing, to  the  individual.  Without  Faith,  in  no  Avise  is  the 
recipient  of  the  Consecrated  Elements  a  partaker  of 
Christ,  but  "  rather  to*his  condemnation  he  doth  eat  and 
drink  the  sign  and  Sacrament  of  so  great  a  thing."  For 
"  the  mean  whereby  the  Body  of  Christ  is  received 
and  eaten"  (not  "given,"  observe,  but  "received  and 
eaten  ")  "  in  the  Supper  is  Faith."  The  faithless  com- 
municant resembles  the  crowd  who  thronged  and  pressed 
our  Lord's  natural  Body,  -without  partaking  of  any 
benefit  whatever.  The  faithful  communicant  resembles 
that  poor  woman,  who,  by  touching  the  hem  of  His 
garment,  di'cw  forth  an  instantaneous  cure. 

Time  warns  me  that  I  must  postpone  to  another  Lec- 
13* 


298  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eiocharist.  [paet 

ture  the  further  developraent  and  illustration  of  this  im- 
portant doctrine. 

Meanwhile,  let  me  conclude  this  Lecture  with  some 
reflections  which  the  first  part  of  our  subject  has  suggest- 
ed, on  the  thankfulness  which  it  behoves  us  to  feel  for 
the  position  which  Divine  Providence  has  assigned  to  us 
as  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the 
United  States.  If  well-balanced  views  of  Scriptural 
Truth,  equally  remote  from  the  Romanizing  and  Ration- 
alizing tendencies  of  the  day,  if  the  union  of  Scriptural 
Doctrine  with  Apostolic  Discipline,  be  any  security  for 
the  soundness  of  our  faith  and  the  steadiness  of  our 
religious  principles  in  these  dangerous  days,  surely  we, 
whose  Prayer  Books  furnish  us  with  such  views,  and 
whose  Ecclesiastical  Constitution  presents  this  happy 
union,  ought  to  be  thoroughly  fortified,  under  God's 
Blessing,  against  errors  and  innovations.  But,  alas  !  it 
must  be  confessed  with  shame  and  sorrow,  the  great 
majority  of  American  Churchmen  only  yield  theu^  Church 
a  nominal  allegiance  ;  their  Churchnjanship  is  not  at  all 
the  result  of  choice  and  reflection,  but  the  merest  accident 
of  their  position.  Wher^.  will  you  find  a  discriminating 
appreciation  of  the  excellence  of  oiir  Liturgy,  Catechism, 
and  Articles  ?  Alas  !  all  that  the  great  majority  know 
of  the  Book,  which  is  for  them  the  interpreter  of  Holy 
Scripture,  is  derived  from  hearing  the  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayer  read  in  their  ears  every  Sunday,  and 
from  some  hazy  disagreeable  reminiscences  of  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  Catechism,  when  administered  to  them  as  a 
lesson  in  youth.  The  Thirty-nine  Articles  many  have 
literally  never  read ;  and  if  it  happens  that  they  have 
assisted  at  a  christening,  a  wedding,  or  a  funeral,  the 
interest  which  those  occasions  naturally  have  to  the  feel- 


nr.]  The  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  299 

ings  of  persons  even  remotely  concerned  in  them,  has 
quite  swallowed  up  all  thought  of  the  precious  truths 
embodied  in  and  proclaimed  by  the  Eitual, — truths 
adapted  to  the  sanctification  of  the  various  periods  of 
human  life. 

And  thus  it  comes  to  pass  that,  in  the  midst  of  some 
notorious  extravagances  in  the  direction  of  Rome,  and  in 
the  direction  of  Latitiidinarianism,  which  it  is  fashion- 
able to  decry,  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  our  people 
is  of  a  low  type, — a  religion  intolerant  indeed  of  Koman- 
ism  and  Rationalism,  but  having  no  real  ground  of  its 
own  to  stand  upon,  and  consisting  merely  in  a  few  im- 
pressions derived  from  Sermons,  and  a  few  evangelical 
phraseologies  picked  up  from  Books, — a  religion  w^hose 
Creed,  if  it  had  a  Creed  at  all,  would  probably  run  thus  : 
"  I  believe  that  Faith  is  the  only  Grace,  and  that  Preach- 
ing is  the  only  Ordinance."  Surely  the  devout  and  atten- 
tive study  of  the  Prayer  Book  would  lead  us  to  some 
better  and  more  definite  form  of  Religion  than  this ; 
would  give  us  mo^e  especially  those  hard  and  clear  con- 
ceptions of  Christian  Doctrine,  which  must  after  aU  be 
the  nerves  and  stamina  of  practical  rehgion.  A  religion 
of  mere  sentiment  will  break  down  under  stress  of  trial ; 
we  need  in  that  hour  a  rehgion  of  weU-ascertained  prin- 
ciples, which  we  have  tested  by  bringing  them  to  the 
criterion  of  Truth. 

It  is  under  this  conviction  of  the  want  of  definiteness 
and  consistency  in  the  popular  views  of  Christianity,  that 
I  have  thought  it  well  to  devote  this  little  work  to  the 
illustration  and  explanation  of  the  highest  Service  of  the 
Church.  The  field  offers  ample  variety,  as  well  as  topics 
of  the  greatest  interest.  If  we  cannot  without  presump- 
tion hope  to  occupy  it  altogether  worthily,  let  us  at  least 


800  The  blessing  of  the  Eucharist,  [paet 

pray  that  God  will  not  suffer  us  to  wrong  such  themfts  by 
speaking  upon  them  with  cold  heart  and  dead  affections, 
and  that  He  will  bless  our  poor  endeavours  not  only  to  a 
better  appreciation  of  the  treasures  which  He  has  given 
us  in  our  Prayer  Book,  but  to  a  warmer  and  heartier  use 
of  it  in  Divine  Worship, — ^so  that  we  may  indeed  pray, 
as  His  Aposlle  has  taught  us,  with  the  spirit  and  with 
the  understanding  also. 


LECTURE   VII. 

THE    BLESSING     OF    THE     EUCHARIST,    WITH    A    FUKTHER 
ILLUSTRATION     OP     ITS     DOCTRINE. 

"  "^t  ti)ai  is  joIneU  unto  t^e  3LovIi  is  one  Spirit/* 
1  Cor.  vi.  17. 

In  our  last  Lecture  we  traced  out  the  Rationalizing 
and  Romanizing  views  of  the  doctriiie  of  the  Eucharist, 
and  then  showed  how  the  Scriptural  doctrine,  faithfully 
echoed  by  our  Church,  steers  clear  of  both  these  errors. 

Time  then  forbade  us  to  remark,  what  is  quite  neces- 
sary for  the  full  illustration  of  the  subject,  that  the  error 
both  of  Rationalists  and  Romanists  has,  strange  as  it  may 
appear  to  say  so,  a  common  principle ;  and  that  this  is 
one  of  the  many  instances  in  which  extremes  meet. 
Observe,  then,  that  neither  Rationalist  nor  Romanist 
acknowledges  a  mystery  in  the  Eucharist.  The  Ration- 
alist avows  explicitly  that  there  is  no  mystery  ;  that  Christ's 
words  of  Institution  are  to  be  taken  figuratively  ;  that  tlie 
elements  are  mere  emblems  of  Christ's  Body  and  Blood, 
and  nothing  more  ;  that  the  rite  is  merely  commemorative. 


lY.]  with  a  further  Illustration  of  its  Doctrine.  301 

The  Romanist  equally  abolishes  the  mystery  though  in 
another  way  ;  as  the  Rationalist  had  eluded  the  mystery 
by  a  figurative,  so  he  no  less  eludes  it  by  a  gross  and 
carnal  interpretation.  This  Bread,  he  says,  becomes 
substantially  flesh  ;  and  this  Wine  becomes  substantially 
,Blood.  In  that  case  there  is  no  mystery  in  our  reception 
of  Christ's  Body  and  Blood  in  the  Eucharist ;  we  press 
wath  our  teeth  that  which  is  flesh  ;  we  taste  with  our  tongue 
that  which  is  blood  ;  there  is  nothing  mysterious  here  ; 
but  merely  a  carnal  animal  process,  the  very  notion  of 
which  shocks  our  feelings  of  reverence  as  well  as  our 
common  sense.  On  the  other  hand,  we  hold  that  while, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  consecrated  Bread  and  Wine  remain 
all  along  in  their  true  and  natural  substances,  they  be- 
come by  consecration  the  medium  by  which  every  faith- 
ful communicant  "  receives  and  eats  after  an  heavenly 
and  spiritual  manner,"  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 
And  if  our  adversaries  ask  us  with  jS'icodemus,  "  How 
can  these  things  be  ?  "  our  answer  must  be  that  of  the 
three  Hebrew  youths  to  Nebuchadnezzar :  "  We  are  not 
careful  to  answer  thee  in  this  matter."  We  are  not 
ashamed  to  say  frankly,  "  We  do  not  know  how."  We 
are  not  afraid  to  acknowledge  a  mystery  in  the  highest 
ordinance  of  the  Faith ;  and  we  desire  to  bear  in  mind 
that  if  a  mystery  could  be  explained,  and  made  clear  to 
the  human  understanding,  it  w^ould  cease  to  be  a  mystery. 
We  object  to  you  Rationalists,  we  object  to  you  Roman- 
ists, that  the  one  by  a  figurative,  the  other  by  a  gross  and 
carnal  interpretation,  ye  profess  to  explain  the  inexplica- 
ble. We  think  that  even  on  subjects  of  Natural  Science, 
which  are  not  beyond  the  compass  of  human  reason,  pro- 
fessed explanations  often  serve  only  to  obscure  the  truth. 
That  Body  and  Mind  reciprocally  act  upon  one  another ; 


302  The  Blessing  of  the  Eucharist,        [paet 

that  the  blood  circulates  in  living  animal  bodies  ;  that  the 
nourishment  received  by  such  bodies  is  assimilated,  and 
becomes  part  of  the  animal  fabric,  either  bone,  or  flesh, 
or  muscle  ;  all  these  positions  are  certain,  and  may  safely 
be  assumed  and  acted  upon  ;  but  as  to  how  these  things 
are,  as  to  what  precisely  is  the  mystic  link  of  sympathy 
between  mind  and  matter,  what  is  the  origin  of  the 
movement  called  circulation,  why  a  living  body  should 
have  an  assimilative  power  over  nourishment, — of  these 
points,  even  in  the  present  very  advanced  state  of  science, 
we  must  confess  ourselves  entirely  ignorant.  Is  it  to  be 
wondered  at  if  in  subjects  of  Re\'elation,  which  notorious- 
ly transcend  the  powers  of  the  human  mind,  our  under- 
standing should  sometimes  be  at  fault?  If  in  the  re- 
searches of  Natural  Philosophy  you  can  hardly  move 
three  steps  without  coming  to  a  dead  wall,  how  can  we 
suppose  that  in  Divine  Philosophy  mysteries,  precluding 
all  further  research,  will  not  meet  us  at  every  turn? 

It  will,  however,  frequently  happen  that  if,  in  the 
acceptance  of  mysteries,  we  are  humble,  patient,  and 
docile,  our  Heavenly  Father  will  not  indeed  make  them 
plain  to  our  understandings,  but  will  give  us  such 
glimpses  of  light  upon  them  as  will  confirm  us  in  our 
faith.  And  perhaps  we  may  derive,  under  His  blessing, 
some  such  confirmation  of  our  faith  from  an  illustration 
of  the  subject  (it  is  nothing  more)  which  we  are  now 
about  to  propose. 

There  is  one  other  thing  besides  the  Eucharistic 
Bread,  which  in  Scripture  is  called,  and  called  repeatedly, 
"  the  Body  of  Christ."  The  Church  or  Society  of  the 
faithful  is  so  called.  The  Church  "  is  His  Body,"  we 
are  told,  "  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all." 
*'  Ye  are  the  Body  of  Christ,  and  members  in  particular.'* 


IV.]  with  a  further  Illitstration  of  its  Doctrine.  303 

"  The  Head,  even  Christ,  from  whom  the  whole  Body, 
fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which  every 
joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  ev^ery  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto 
the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

And  again  (with  an  evident  allusion,  as  the  context 
shows,  to  the  words  of  Adam  respecting  his  newly- 
formed  partner,  "  This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and 
flesh  of  my  flesh"),  "We  are  members  of  His  Bo(iy,  of 
His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones."  In  this  and  other  pas- 
sages the  marriage  union  is  pointed  at  as  signifying  and 
representing  the  spiritual  marriage  and  unity  which  is 
betwixt  Christ  and  His  Church.  And  it  is  much  to  our 
purpose  to  observe,  that  this  spiritual  union  is  spoken  of 
expHcitly  as  a  mystery  :  "  This  is  a  great  mystery  ;  but  I 
speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  Church." 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  we  can  easily  see  that  when 
ihe  Church  is  said  to  be  the  Body  of  Christ,  just  as  when 
the  Bread  in  the  Eucharist  is  said  to  be  His  Body  (or 
the  Communion  of  His  Body) ,  the  words  have  a  figura- 
tive meaning.  No  one  will  dispute  this.  The  eyes,  by 
which  the  body  guides  itself,  are  in  the  head.  The 
thinking  faculty,  the  wilUng  and  determining  faculty,  are 
supposed  to  reside  in  the  head.  The  brain  reflects,  and 
then  issues  its  volitions  to  the  hand  and  the  foot, 
through  whom  those  volitions  are  carried  out.  Sim- 
ilarly Christ  in  Heaven  illuminates  His  Church  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  shows  her  the  way  wherein  she  should 
walk.  Christ  issues  His  mandates  to  us  throuo:h  His 
Word,  and  through  His  Spkit  in  our  consciences  ;  and 
we  are  His  instruments  for  carrying  them  out.  All  this 
is  perfectly  true  ;  and  all  this  serves  to  explain  to  us  the 
reason  why  the  Church  is  called  the  Body  of  Christ. 


304  The  Blessing  of  the  Eucharist^        [paet 

But  is  the  expression  nothing  more  than  a  figure  f  Is 
tlie  union  betwixt  Christ  and  His  Church,  in  virtue  of 
which  He  is  our  Head,  and  we  are  His  members,  merely 
a  metaphor,  a  poetical  form  of  speech  ?  God  forbid  that 
■we  should  think  so  !  for  to  think  so  would  be  to  forfeit 
our  greatest  comfort.  We  are  verily  and  indeed  united 
to  Christ, — after  an  heavenly  and  spiritual  manner, — a 
manner  no  less  real,  because  it  is  spiritual  and  heavenly. 
Just  as  the  immortal  spirit  is  really  united  to  the  body, 
and  just  as  the  thread  of  connexion  between  the  spirit 
and  the  body  is  that  mysterious  thing  which  we  call 
Life  ;  so  our  spirits  are  really  and  truly  united  to  Christ 
in  Heaven,  and  the  thread  of  connexion  is  that  mysteri- 
ous Agent,  by  whose  operation  He  was  conceived  of  the 
Virgin,  and  is  conceived  again  in  our  hearts,  the  Third 
Person  in  the  Blessed  Trinity,  called,  in  the  Nicene 
Creed,  "  the  Lord,  and  Giver  of  Life."  This  Spirit,  the 
human  soul  of  Our  Lord  possesses  without  measure ;  we, 
on  the  other  hand,  possess  Him  according  to  the  measure 
of  the  gift  of  the  Christ ;  but  the  connexion  between  us 
and  Christ  established  by  this  medium,  so  far  from  being 
a  mere  figure,  is  the  most  real  union  in  the  world.  All 
other  unions, — the  union  of  the  head  with  the  members, 
of  the  branches  with  the  vine,  of  the  man  with  his  wife, 
— are  but  shadows  of  this  heavenly,  spiritual,  ineffable, 
and  incomprehensible  union,  just  as  the  furniture  in 
Moses'  Tabernacle  was  but  a  poor  dim  copy  of  the  things 
showed  him  in  the  mount. — Yet,  on  the  other  hand, 
what  a  monstrous  and  revolting  absurdity  would  it  be  to 
represent  this  union  of  Our  Blessed  Lord  with  the  mem- 
bers of  His  Church,  as  in  any  sense  natural,  earthly,  and 
carnal !  Only  imagine  the  absurdity  of  a  man's  pressing 
St.  Paul's  words, — "  We  are  members  of  His  Body^  of 


IV.]  with  a  further  Illustration  of  its  Doctrine.  305 

His  flesb,  and  of  His  bones,"  so  literally  as  to  say  that 
he  himself  had  an  actual  blood  relationship  to  Our  Lord, 
and  was  a  member  of  His  family  according  to  the  flesh  ! 
Or  suppose  that  because  it  is  written,  "  We  are  mem- 
bers of  His  Body,"  another  should  assert  that  he  was 
literally  the  very  foot,  or  the  very  hand  of  Christ,  which 
was  nailed  to  the  Cross !  These  speculations  would  be 
justly  regarded  as  the  very  ravings  of  fanaticism  ;  and 
the  man  who  should  broach  them  would  only  be  thought 
worthy  of  being  lodged  in  an  asylum  for  lunatics. 

NoAv  if  the  Chm:ch  be  called  the  Body  of  Christ,  on 
the  one  hand,  not  by  a  mere  figure,  nor  yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  a  literal,  natural,  and  carnal  sense,  but  in  a 
heavenly  mystery,  why  should  not  the  Bread  and  Wine 
of  the  Eucharist  be  called  His  Body  and  Blood  in  a 
manner  something  similar  ?  The  Bread  and  Wine  are 
unquestionably  figures  of  His  Body  and  Blood,  the  corn 
bruised  in  the  mill  aptly  representing  Him  who  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities,  the  wine  (or  pressed  grape) 
aptly  emblematizing  that  precious  Blood,  which  was 
pressed  out  in  the  endurance  of  the  curse  for  our  sakes. 
But  are  the  consecrated  elements  nothing  more  than 
figures  ?  Not  so.  They  are  in  a  heavenly  mystery, 
which  we  presume  not  to  understand,  and  therefore 
which  we  presume  not  to  define,  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ,  insomuch  that  to  those  who  "  rightly,  worthily, 
and  with  faith,  receive  the  same,  the  Bread  which  we 
break  is  a  partaking  of  the  Body  of  Christ ;  and  likewise 
the  Cup  of  Blessing  is  a  partaking  of  the  Blood  of  Christ." 

But  it  is  surely  fanatical,  contrary  not  only  to  sobri- 
ety, but  to  reverence,  to  maintain  that  in  a  natural,  ani- 
mal, carnal  way  the  elements  are  the  Body  and  Blood 
of  Chi'ist.     To  take  up  such  a  position  is  to  press  the 


306  The  Blessing  of  the  Eucharist^         [paet 

words  of  Scripture  against  common  sense,  and  against 
the  analogy  of  other  passages  in  which  the  same  words 
are  used,  to  a  most  revolting  conclusion. 

Our  illustration  has  led  us  to  speak  of  the  real  living  one- 
ness of  the  Church  with  Christ,  even  as  the  Body  is  united 
to  the  Head,  and  as  the  Branches  are  united  with  the  Vine. 

And  we  shall  gain  still  further  light  upon  our  subject 
by  remarking  that  of  this  union  with  Christ  the  Holy 
Communion  is  the  great  appointed  means  and  instrumen- 
tality. Union  with  Christ  is  the  blessing  shadowed 
forth  by  the  use  of  the  outward  visible  sign,  and  actually 
realized  by  the  soul  of  every  faithful  communicant.  I 
say  it  is  the  blessing  shadowed  forth.  For  whaf  is  the 
use  made  of  the  Bread  and  Wine  ?  They  are  taken  and 
eaten.  And  what  becomes  of  sustenance  when  received 
by  a  healthy  frame?  It  is  assimilated;  or,  in  other 
words,  in  due  time  it  becomes  part  of  the  frame  Avhich 
receives  it,  and  cannot  be  distinguislied  from  other  parts 
of  the  same  kind.  The  food  becomes  bone,  or  flesh,  or 
muscle,  as  the  case  may  be.  In  an  analogous  way  the 
Heavenly  or  Spiritual  Food,  which  is  given  in  this  Sup- 
per after  an  heavenly  and  spiritual  manner,  and  which 
Faith,  wherever  it  exists,  assimilates  (for  our  faith  is 
the  organ  of  digestion, — that  which  alone  makes  the  food 
available),  is  incorporated  with  our  inner  man  ;  and  He, 
upon  whose  Body  and  Blood  we  have  fed,  becomes  one 
with  us,  and  we  with  Him.  So  that  there  is  something 
more  in  this  Sacrament,  and  something  higher,  than  a 
mere  spiritual  Presence  of  Christ.  That  spiritual  Pres- 
ence is  covenanted  to  all  united  worship,  even  when  the 
Holy  Supper  is  not  celebrated ;  for  the  charter  of  mere 
Common  Prayer  runs  thus :  "  Where  two  or  three  are 


IV.]  with  afi(/rtlier  Illustration  of  its  Doctrine.  307 

gathered  together  in  My  Name,  there  ani  I  in  the  midst 
of  them."  But  you  will  at  once  se^  that  the  idea  of 
Christ's  Presence  with  us,  and  the  idea  of  Christ's 
Union  with  us,  are  totally  distinct ;  and  that  the  lat- 
ter idea,  while  it  involves  the  former,  goes  far  beyond 
it  in  blessedness.  When  we  pay  our  respects  at  an 
earthly  court,  we  are  in  the  Presence  of  the  Sovereign ; 
but  when  in  the  comparative  privacy  of  our  homes,  we 
feel  the  full  solace  of  all  the  charities  and  sympathies  of 
domestic  life,  this  is  something  more  than  the  presence 
of  our  relations  and  friends, — it  is  a  union  of  hearts  with 
them.  And,  similarly,  it  is  a  high  privilege  (as  doubt- 
less angels  account  it  equally  with  ourselves)  merely  to 
present  ourselves  before  the  King  of  Bangs,  to  do  hom- 
age at  His  footstool  in  conjunction  with  our  brethren. 
But  it  is  a  still  higher  and  more  blessed  privilege  (and 
one  for  w^hich  the  angels  have  no  capacity,  because 
Christ  took  not  their  nature  upon  Him,  as  He  hath  taken 
ours)  to  be  united  with  the  Lord,  so  as  to  become  one 
Spirit  with  Him,  so  as  to  be  "  members "  (after  a  true 
and  real,  and  yet  after  an  heavenly  manner)  "  of  His 
Body,  of  His  Flesh,  and  of  His  Bones." 

And  here  I  must  advert  to  an  erroneous  and  unscrip- 
tural  practice,  which  some  would  introduce  into  our 
Churches,  though  it  has  not  a  particle  of  sanction  from 
the  Liturgy.  All  erroneous  practices  will  be  found  ul- 
timately to  spring  from  unsound  views  ;  and  so  I  believe 
it  is  in  this  case.  The  practice  I  refer  to  is  that  of  being 
present  at  the  actual  Celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
without  communicating,  and  the  accounting  such  pres- 
ence as  an  acceptable  work  of  devotion,  though  it  be  of  an 
inferior  grade.     See  how  the  view  we  have  propounded 


308  The  Blessing  of  the  Eucharist^         [paet 

fences  off  this  mistake.  The  great  characteristic  Bless- 
ing of  the  Ordinance  is  union  with  Christ ;  His  Body 
and  Blood  are  given  in  the  Snpper,  not  to  be  gazed  upon 
by  spectators,  but  to  be  partaken  of  by  faithful  com- 
ir^unicants.  Unless  there  is  a  participation,  you  defeat 
the  end  of  the  Ordinance.  If  the  Church  be  asked  to 
produce  her  warrant  for  the  Celebration,  she  can  pro- 
duce none  but  this,  "  Talze^  eat :  this  is  My  Body." 
You  will  observe  that  "  Take,  eat,"  are  the  very  first 
words  of  the  warrant.  Then  if  a  man  comes  without 
taking  and  eating,  is  it  not  a  perverse  thwarting  of  the 
Lord's  design  and  intention?  If  a  Sovereiiyn  should  bid 
his  councillors  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  giving  him 
their  advice  in  an  important  affair  of  state,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  this  summons  should  expect  from  all  of  them 
some  interchange  of  sentiment  and  discourse  ;  and  if 
some  should  come  to  the  council,  but  when  there  should 
refuse  to  open  their  lips,  what  would  this  be  but  to  defeat 
the  design  of  calling  the  council,  and  make  the  attendance 
of  such  persons  at  it  a  futile  mockery  ? 

And  if  the  Lord  has  instituted  a  Sacrament  for  the 
strengthening  and  refreshing  of  our  souls  by  the  partici- 
pation of  it,  and  we  come  to  witness,  but  not  to  partake, 
is  not  this  a  plain  perversion  of  what  He  meant  by  it? 
The  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  are  given  in  the  Supper 
to  be  partaken  of,  and  the  Consecration  for  any  other 
purpose  than  that  of  partaking  has  no  warrant  of  Our 
Lord's  at  all,  and  would  therefore  be  vain  and  impious. 

There  is  one  most  precious  and  consolatory  thought 
(connected  with  what  has  been  said)  which,  in  the  con- 
clusion of  this  Lecture,  we  must  develope.  The  union 
with  Christ,  which  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  both  emblem- 


IV.]  with  afii^rther  lllust/ration  of  its  Doctrine,  309 

atizes,  and,  wliea  duly  received,  conveys,  is  union 
Avith  Christ  in  His  Death.  The  Body  and  Blood  are  ex- 
hibited by  the  Bread  and  Wine  in  a  state  of  separation 
from  one  another.  Now  the  Blood  is  in  Scripture  said 
to  be  the  Life ;  and  accordingly  the  separation  of  the 
Blood  from  the  Body  indicates  that  death  has  taken 
place.  It  is,  then,  with  a  dying  Christ,  and  so  with  an 
atoning  and  propitiating  Christ,  that  the  Holy  Supper, 
duly  received,  makes  us  one.  Ah !  what  an  infinite 
comfort,  when  we  consider  the  number  and  seriousness 
of  our  responsibihties,  and  the  grievous  failures  of  the 
best  of  us  in  meeting  them  !  Christ,  we  know,  expiated 
all  sins  upon  the  Cross.  "  By  His  one  oblation  of  Him- 
self once  oftered  "  (as  our  Prayer  of  Consecration  has  it) 
"  He  hath  made  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice, 
oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world." 

Now  in  this  Holy  Ordinance  the  great  blessing  of 
union  with  Christ  is  offered  to  our  faith, — of  union  with 
a  dying,  bleeding,  agonizing  Christ.  We  have  the 
closest  intercourse  with  Him,  "in  whom,"  as  St.  Paul 
says,  "  all  died."  Christ  died  as  representing  sinful 
Humanity,  lying  under  the  ban  and  curse  of  sin  ;  though 
personally  standing  entirely  aloof  from  it.  He  identified 
Himself  with  our  guilt,  and  took  upon  Him  to  answer  all 
charges  against  us.  If  now  we  be  one  Spirit  with  Him, 
— if  our  union  with  Him  be  cemented  inwardly  by  faith, 
outwardly  by  ordinance, — we  too  have  in  Him  really 
and  truly  died  for  sin,  and  by  that  death  in  Christ  have 
endured  sin's  penalty.  The  Law,  the  accusing  con- 
science, the  accusing  spirit,  have  in  that  case  no  more 
charge  against  us, — w^e  may  go  free.  Oh,  what  a 
strength  in  dying  to  the  jpower  of  sin  may  be  gathered 


310       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration,     [paet 

from  tliis  consideration,  that  in  tlie  dear  Saviour,  with 
whom  we  are  so  vitally  and  closely  united  in  this  blessed 
Sacrament,  we  have  already  died  to  its  guilt !  Oh  ! 
shall  we  not  long  for  that  union  with  Him, — union  with 
His  Merits,  with  His  Cross,  with  His  Passion,  with  His 
Spirit,  which  faith  indeed  avails  itself  of,  but  which  this 
Ordinance  conveys  and  seals?  For  this  union,  be  it  re- 
membered, is  the  secret  not  only  of  all  peace  and  pardon, 
but  of  all  strength ;  and  the  tighter  the  bonds  of  it  are 
drawn,  the  greater  will  be  our  power  over  indwelling, 
corruption,  and  the  more  close  and  happy  will  be  our 
walk  with  God. 


LECTURE    YIII. 

OP   THE    SENTENCES    OF   ADMINISTRATION. 

"  ?^e  tf)at  tzXtW)  l^e,  cbcn  %t  sljall  libe  i)^  i^c." 
John  vi.  57. 

The  two  sentences  with  which  among  ourselves  the 
Communion  in  either  kind  is  administered,  exhibit  a  little 
miniature  of  the  position  of  our  Church,  combining  (as 
she  everywhere  does)  two  different  aspects  (or,  perhaps, 
I  should  rather  say,  two  different  elements)  of  Truth. 
The  former  sentence  is  a  prayer :  "  The  Body  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  given  for  thee  (the  Bloo(^ 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  shed  for  thee), 
preserve  thy  body  and  soul  unto  everlasting  life,"  and  is 
the  same,  with  a  very  slight  addition,^  as  that  which  was 

^  The  Form  in  the  Sacramentary  of  Gregory  is :  "  The  Body  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  thy  soul  unto  eternal  life," — omitting 


IV.]       Of  the  Sentences  of  AdministTation,        311 

used  in  the  Mediaeval  Church,  and  is  still  used  in  the 
Church  of  Eome.  The  latter  is  an  exhortation  :  "  Take 
and  eat  this,  in  remembrance  that  Christ  died  for  thee  ; 
and  feed  on  Him  in  thy  heart  by  faith  -with  thanks- 
giving ; "  "  Drink  this,  in  remembrance  that  Christ's 
Blood  was  shed  for  thee,  and  be  thankful ;  " — and  appear- 
ed for  the  first  time  in  the  second  Prayer  Book  of  Kjng 
Edward  VI.,  where  it  was  appointed  to  be  used  alone, 
and  to  supersede  altogether  the  first  sentence,  which  had 
appeared  alone  in  the  first  draught  of  the  Prayer  Book 
three  years  earlier. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  first  sentence  presents  the 
Sacrament  under  the  aspect  of  a  means  of  Grace,  as  a 
rite,  which  (under  certain  assumed  conditions)  is  of  a 
salutary  character  :  "  The  Body  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
which  was  given  for  thee, — ^the  Blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  which  was  shed  for  thee, — preserve  thy  body  and 
soul  unto  everlasting  life." 

The  second  sentence,  the  composition,  and  substitution 
of  which  for  the  first,  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  influence  of 
the  Continental  Reformers,  Bucer  and  Martyr,  represents 
the  Sacrament  under  the  aspect  of  a  Commemoration, 
and  also  recognizes  in  a  marked  way  the  doctrine  of  the 
Twenty-eighth  Article,  that  "  the  Body  of  Christ  is  given, 
taken,  and  eaten  in  the  Supper,  only  after  an  heavenly 
and  spiritual  manner.  And  the  mean  whereby  the  Body 
of  Christ  is  received  and  eaten  in  the  Supper  is  Faith." 

This  last  was  the  only  sentence  of  Administration  in 

any  mention  of  the  body  of  the  communicant.  The  introduction  of 
tbe  word  "  body  "  makes  the  form  more  complete,  and  conveys  the 
important  lesson  which  we  have  already  dwelt  upon,  as  taught  us  by 
that  clause  in  the  Prayer  of  Access :  *'  That  our  sinful  bodies  may  be 
made  clean  by  His  Body." 


312       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration,     [pabt 

the  Englisli  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  until  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  When  her  accession  gave  an  oppor- 
tunity for  consolidating  the  work  of  the  Reformation, 
which  v/ork  had  been  thrown  back  by  the  persecutions 
and  troubles  of  Mary's  reign,  a  Koyal  Commission  was 
appointed,  the  leading  spirit  of  which  seems  to  have  been 
Guest,  to  review  the  second  Prayer  Book  of  King 
Edward  VI.,  and  make  such  additions  and  alterations  in 
it  as,  without  compromising  Truth,  might  conciliate  dif- 
ferent parlies  in  the  Church.  It  was  then  thought  that 
though  the  latter  sentence  contained  much  and  valuable 
truth,  it  was  by  itself  liable  to  the  misinterpretation  that 
the  Lord's  Supper  is  nothing  more  than  a  memorial ;  that 
this  misinterpretation  w^ould  be  precluded  by  recalling 
the  earlier  and  equally  Scriptural  sentence  ;  and  that 
therefore  for  the  future  they  should  both  be  used  together, 
and  coalesce  into  one  formulary.  And  this  arrangement 
has  remained  to  the  present  day. 

But  in  this  connexion  we  may  mention  another 
historical  circumstance  connected  with  these  sentences, 
though  it  did  not  issue  in  any  modification  or  alteration 
of  them.  The  application  of  the  sentences  to  each 
individual  communicant  separately  is  ruled  by  the  use  in 
each  of  them  of  the  singular  number  :  "  The  Body  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  given  for  tliee^ — the  Blood 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  shed  for  thee^ — pre- 
serve thy  body  and  soul  unto  everlasting  life."  This 
individual  application  of  the  blessing  of  the  Ordinance 
was  objected  to  by  the  Presbyterians  at  the  Savoy  Con- 
ference. Holding  strongly  the  doctrine  of  Particular 
Redemption,  they  thought  that  it  could  not  truly  be 
affirmed  that  for  every  communicant  the  Body  of  Christ 
was  given,  and  Ilis  Blood  shed.     These  great  privileges 


IV.]       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration.        313 

they  thought  could  be  predicated  only  of  the  elect ;  and 
they  expressed  a  wish,  therefore,  that  the  sentences  might 
be  wcrded  in  the  plural,  and  that  the  Minister  be  not 
required  to  deliver  ihe  Sacramental  elements  "  into  every 
particular  communicant's  hand."  Their  recommenda- 
tion of  pluralizing  the  words,  and  using  them  only  once 
for  each  body  of  communicants,  is  often  adopted  at 
present,  and  (as  far  as  I  know)  without  any  Episcopal 
censure,  sometimes  from  sheer  necessity  (the  com- 
municants being  very  numerous,  and  the  Ministers  only 
one  or  two),  in  which  case  it  is  surely  very  uncharitable, 
and  savours  somewhat  of  a  Pharisaical  adherence  to  the 
letter  of  the  law  to  object  to  it ;  but  sometimes  also,  I 
fear,  because  that  mode  of  administration  is  really 
thought  preferable  to  the  mode  which  is  actually  pre- 
scribed. It  may  unsettle  this  preference  in  the  minds  of 
some,  and  lead  them  to  look  with  suspicion  on  this  devia- 
tion from  the  ordinary  practice,  to  know  that  the  altera- 
tion was  first  advocated  by  those  who  had  a  direct 
doctrinal  end  to  subserve  by  it ;  and  that  these  divines 
designed  to  insinuate,  by  plurah'zing  the  sentence,  the 
false  and  deadly  error,  which  deprives  the  Gospel  of  half 
its  lustre,  and  which  (in  truth)  leaves  it  no  Gospel  at  all 
for  the  mass  of  mankind, — that  only  for  a  select  few  of 
the  human  race  was  the  Blood  of  Atonement  shed,  and 
that  they  only  have  an  interest  in  the  Blessings  of 
Redemption. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  history  of  these  sentences 
furnishes  many  interesting  reflections,  which  have  a 
practical  bearing. 

1.  It  has  been  often  thrown  oufras  a  taunt  against  our 
Prayer  Book,  that  the  Religion  embodied  in  its  formu- 
laries is  a  compromise  between  two  conflicting  principles. 
14 


314       Of  the  Sentences  of  Admmistration.     [paet 

This  is  an  ill-natured  way  of  representing  a  circumstance, 
\ylnch,  looked  at  in  the  right  light,  does  credit  to  our 
Zion.  "What  is  meant  by  the  taunt  is,  that  the  Prayer 
Book  embraces  in  its  system  different  elements  of  Truth, 
— elements  which  find  acceptance  with  minds  of  quite 
different  classes.  If  to  embrace  these  different  elements 
in  one  system  be  a  compromise,  all  that  we  can  say  in 
our  defence  (and  surely  it  is  enough)  is,  that  the  Holy 
Scriptures  themselves  are  a  compromise  also.  No  can- 
did person  will  deny  that  Scripture  contains  very  strong 
statements  on  both  sides  of  the  Calvinistic  and  Arminian 
controversy,  on  both  sides  of  the  Faith  and  Works  con- 
troversy, on  both  sides  of  the  Baptismal  Regeneration 
controversy  ;  nor  was  there  ever  any  errorist  yet  who  did 
not  appeal,  in  maintaining  his  error,  to  certain  passages 
of  the  Bible,  and  to  whom  those  passages  do  not  seem  to 
lend  some  support,  if  texts  of  an  opposite  character  are 
put  out  of  court.  In  the  matter  before  us  the  Scriptures 
say  strong  things  on  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  on  its  efficacy  as  a  means  of  Grace.  For 
let  those  persviade  themselves,  who  can  do  so,  that  the 
words,  "  This  is  My  Body,"  "  The  Bread,  which  we 
break,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  Body  of  Christ  ?  " 
mean  nothing  more  thrin,  "  This  is  a  figure  of  My  Body, 
and  of  your  participation  in  it."  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Scriptures  assert  with  clearness  the  non-mysterious  side- 
of  the  subject,  and  the  commemorative  character  and 
purport  of  the  Eucharist :  "  This  do  in  remembrance  of 
Me ; "  "  As  often  as  ye  eat  this  Bread,  and  drink  this 
Cup,  ye  do  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come." 
What  our  Service  Book  does,  and  that  at  the  culminating 
point  of  the  E-ite,  is  to  tread  accurately  in  the  footsteps 
of  Holy  Scripture, — to  recognize   both  the  mysterious 


IV.]        Of  the  Sentonces  of  Admmistration.       315 

efficacy,  and  also  the  commeinorative  aspect,  of  the 
Sacrament,  as  it  were  inT)ne  breath  :  "  The  Body,  which 
was  given  for  thee,  preserve  thy  body  and  soul.  Take 
and  eat  this  in  remembrance  that  Christ  died  for  thee." 

Exactly  similar  is  the  treatment  which  other  moot 
points  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  Prayer  Book.  For 
example,  that  of  Absolution.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
power  of  judicial  Absolution,  claimed  by  the  Church  of 
Eome,  is  effectually  disclaimed.  Exercised  as  it  is  in 
that  corrupt  Communion,  where  it  enters  as  a  regular 
practice  into  the  normal  life  of  a  Christian,  to  pour  out 
all  his  secret  sins  periodically  at  the  feet  of  a  Priest,  and 
to  rise  up  relieved  (as  he  believes)  of  the  burden  of  them, 
Absolution  is  nowhere  seen  in  the  Scripture,  and  it  is 
accordingly  nowhere  seen  in  the  Prayer  Book.  But  is 
Ministerial  Absolution  therefore  a  figment,  to  be  thrown 
overboard  altogether?  Have  Christian  Ministers  no 
power  or  commandment  to  convey  the  tidings  of  God's 
Absolution,  or  to  intercede  for  it  on  behalf  of  their  peo- 
ple ?  No  one  Avho  reads  the  Prayer  Book  (and  we 
humbly  think,  no  one  who  reads  the  Bible)  will  draw 
this  inference  from  either  one  or  the  other.  Ifi  there 
seem  to  be  an  inconsistency  of  tone  in  our  Service  Book, 
— an  attempt  to  strike  two  notes  at  once,  we  really  can- 
not help  it ;  we  fall  back  on  Holy  Scripture,  where  we 
find  exactly  the  same  feature,  as  our  sufficient  justifica- 
tion. And  be  it  remembered  that  two  or  more  notes 
p truck  together  do  not  necessarily  produce  discord. 
Tliey  may  produce  harmony.  While,  if  only  one  note 
were  struck,  i\\§  effiact  would  be  monotony. 

We  acquiesce  therefore  thankfully  in  this  composite 
character  of  our  Liturgy ;  and  think  that  it  teaches  a 
lesson  most  suitable  for  the  present  times.     Our  formu- 


316       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration,     [part 

laries  were  doubtless  designed  to  be  comprehensive,  and 
to  embrace  the  different  aspects,  under  which  Truth  pre- 
sents itself  to  different  minds.  And  our  sympathies 
should  travel  in  the  same  direction  as  our  formularies. 
It  would  be  a  terrible  calamity  to  our  Church,  if  it  were 
to  represent  only  a  single  section  of  opinion,  and  if  the 
advocates  of  that  opinion  should  succeed  in  excluding 
from  it  those  who  were  more  forcibly  impressed  with 
another  side  of  Truth.  While  no  compromise  must  be 
had  with  error,  let  our  Church  represent,  not  only  in  its 
formularies,  but  in  the  opinions  of  its  adherents,  the  many- 
sidedness  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  And  that  this  end 
may  be  furthered  by  our  course  of  action  as  individuals, 
let  us  joyfully  recognize  as  brethren,  and  strive  to  gain 
good  from,  those  whose  opinions  run  in  a  different  groove 
from  our  own,  though  both  theirs  and  ours  may  very 
probably  converge  towards  one  central  Truth.  Of  this 
we  may  be  sure,  that  no  one  mind  sees  at  once  with 
entire  impartiality  the  entire  doctrinal  system  of  the 
Bible.  Of  the  religious  views  of  e\  ery  one  it  may  be 
said,  that  they  require  supplementing  by  the  religious 
views  of  some  one  else.  Even  men  inspired  unto  infal- 
libility, men  w'hose  tongues  were  precluded  from  error,  be- 
cause they  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  no  means  viewed  Divine  Truth  under  one  light ; — 
they  brought  out,  each  according  to  the  leaning  of  his 
own  mind,  a  different  feature  of  it.  Judging  from  their 
respective  Epistles,  nothing  can  well  be  more  distinct  (not 
to  say  discrepant)  than  the  aspects  under  which  the  Gospel 
presented  itself  to  St.  Paul  and  St.  James,  or  again  to 
St.  Paul  and  St.  John.  A  crude,  hasty,  and  irreverent 
mind  will  cry  out  that  St.  Paul's  view  of  Justification 
cannot  stand  with  St.  James's  view  ;  that  any  attempt  to 


I 


IV.]       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration.        317 

embrace  tLe  two  in  one  system  must  result  in  a  com- 
promise, and  prove  (in  short)  a  halting  between  two 
opinions.  Allegations  of  a  similar  character  have  been 
often  made  against  the  Prayer  Book ;  and  it  is  not 
derogatory  to  the  Prayer  Book  (rather  tli^  contrary)  to 
jtdmit  that  it  is  open  to  them.  Two  different  parties  have 
exercised  an  influence  in  its  construction  ;  two  views  of 
Truth, — the  mediaeval  view  and  that  taken  by  the  Re- 
formers,— are  represented  in  it.  But  if  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  themselves,  which  are  above  the  reach  of 
criticism,  we  find  the  germs  of  both  views,  this  feature 
of  our  Liturgy,  so  far  from  being  an  objection  to  it,  is 
rather  a  strong  recommendation.  Let  us  beware  how 
we  mutilate  this  feature,  if  we  value  the  comprehensive- 
ness of  our  Church,  and  think  that  isolation  from  our 
brethren  in  Christ  is  a  calamity  to  be  deplored.  It 
would  be  a  short-lived  triumph,  indeed,  if  one  party  in 
the  Church  should  succeed  in  striking  out  of  the  Service 
Book  those  passages  of  the  Liturgy,  which  were  not  con- 
ceived in  its  own  mould  of  thought.  With  the  passages, 
we  should  probably  lose  many,  whose  sentiments  they 
represented ;  and  the  Church  would  be  palsied  by  the 
secession  of  some  of  her  best  and  most  gifted  members. 

2.  Another  valuable  lesson,  of  a  more  personal  char- 
acter, is  to  be  drawn  from  the  singular  form  of  the 
Sentence  of  Administration,  for  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  Church  on  one  occasion  made  a  stand  upon  principle. 
Most  wisely  and  well  did  the  Bishops  on  that  occasion 
reply  to  the  Presbyterians  :  "  It  is  most  requisite  that  the 
minister  deliver  the  bread  and  wine  into  every  particular 
communicant's  hand,  and  repeat  the  words  in  the  singu- 
lar number ;  forsomuch  as  it  is  the  propriety  of  Sacra- 
ments to  make  particular  obsignation  to  each  believer." 


318       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration,     [paut 

That  is  to  say,  the  blessings  purchased  for  all,  without 
respect  of  persons,  by  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Death  of  Christ, 
are  made  over  and  applied  to  the  individual  through  the 
channel  of  the  Sacraments.  The  preached  Word  is  for 
the  whole  congi*egation,  assembled  in  Christ's  name  ;  it 
finds  whom  it  may  find  ;  the  seed  is  thrown  broadcast  by 
the  sower,  and  lights,  as  it  may  chance,  upon  receptive 
or  irreceptive  soil.  The  gracious  invitations  of  the 
Gospel  are  couched  in  terms  altogether  general :  "  Ho, 
every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters ; " 
"  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest ;  "  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
He  gave  His  only  Begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
But  there  is  an  instinctive  feeling  in  the  human  mind, 
that  in  a  general  offer,  or  a  general  expression  of  benev- 
olence, there  is  not  the  same  amount  of  condescension, 
graciousness,  encouragement,  as  in  one  which  particular- 
izes our  own  case.  If  a  king,  as  he  rides  along  the 
streets  of  his  metropolis,  orders  his  almoner  to  fling. gold 
pieces  out  of  his  purse  among  the  people,  to  be  caught 
and  gathered  up  by  any  one  who  is  fortunate  enough  to 
catch  them,  that  is  a  proof  of  his  bountifulness  and  con- 
sideration for  his  subjects  generally.  But  it  is  a  far 
greater  condescension,  and  one  which  would  give  his  sub- 
jects greater  boldness  in  approaching  him,  if  he  should 
be  seen  advancing  with  a  gold  piece  towards  some  poor 
man's  hovel,  and  entering  should  say 'to  him,  "I  have 
heard  of  your  distress,  and  this  gold  piece  is  meant  for 
your  relief."  Now  God  announces  to  us  in  His  Word  a 
general  amnesty  and  offer  of  spiritual  blessings ;  but  in 
order  further  to  help  our  infirm  faith,  He  approaches  us 
individually  in  His  Sacraments,  witli  these  gifts  in  His 


IV.]       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration.        319 

Hand.  The  "Word  says  that  Christ  "  tasted  death  for 
every  man."  The  Sacrament  comes,  and  proffers  to  each 
man  individually  the  benefits  of  His  Death,  saying, 
"  The  Body  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Avhich  was  given 
for  tliee^ — the  Blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which 
was  shed  for  tliee^ — preserve  thy  body  and  soul  unto 
everlasting  life." 

Yes ;  it  is  not  philanthropy  merely,  which  God  has 
shown  in  the  redemption  of  mankind  by  Jesus  Christ, 
but  a  distinguishing  love  of  individual  souls.  The  two 
sentiments  are  Avholly  distinct.  Philanthropy  is  like  the 
moonlight,  exceedingly  beautiful,  when  thrown  in  a  sil- 
ver flood  over  a  landscape  or  group  of  buildings,  but  too 
cold  to  quicken  life  in  Nature,  or^to  bring  out  the  blos- 
som and  perfume  of  flowers.  But  distinguishing  person- 
al love  is  like  the  sun's  ray,  genial  and  warm,  and  strikes 
deep  into  the  heart  of  him  on  whom  it  fastens,  and 
'quickens  that  heart  into  lively  emotions  of  gratitude  and 
love.  Now  God  in  the  Gospel  deals  with  us  as  individ- 
ual souls.  He  knew  each  one  of  us  by  name  from  all 
eternity,  before  we  were  shaped  by  His  creative  Hand. 
He  made  His  first  approach  to  us  in  reconciling  Grace, 
when  He  caused  the  Gospel  to  be  preached  in  the  land, 
^"here  we  were  first  destined  to  see  the  light.  He  made 
His  next  approach,  when  He  brought  us  individually  in 
the  way  of  that  Gospel,  smTOunded  us  with  Christian  in- 
fluences, and  appointed  for  us  a  Christian  Education. 
And  can  we  still  question  whether  He  entertains  towards 
ourselves  special  designs  of  Love?  Then  all  remaining 
doubt  may  be  dissipated  by  His  Sacraments.  He  laid 
His  Hand  upon  us  when  we  were  infants,  and  shed  His 
Spirit  upon  us,  and  said  to  us,  *'  Live."  And  now  in 
the  second  and  greater  Sacrament  He  proffers  to  each  of 


320        Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration,    [part 

113  the  Living  Bread,  to  support  the  life  abeadv  im- 
parted. Oh,  for  the  appetite  to  desire  this  nourishment ! 
Oh,  for  the  faith  to  feed  upon  it  in  the  inner  man !  Oh, 
that  all  question  of  God's  condescending  graciousness  to 
•ourselves  may  vanish  altogether  with  the  proof  of  it 
"which  is  thus  given,  when  Plis  Minister  approaches  us 
with  the  consecrated  Elements,  and  prays  that  by  His 
Son's  Body  and  Blood  our  bodies  and  souls  may  be  pre- 
served unto  everlasting  life  ! 

3.  The  Administration  of  the  Communion  (from  the 
formulary  of  which  we  have  been  drawing  these  lessons) 
is  the  climax  of  the  Ordinance,  for  which  all  that  pre- 
cedes has  prepared  the  way,  and  to  which  the  succeeding 
Prayer,  and  Plymn,  and  Blessing  form  an  appropriate 
conclusion.  Pursuing  our  former  comparison  of  the 
CommunioQ  Office  to  a  great  Church  or  Cathedral,  we 
have  now  advanced  up  to  the  very  Table  of  the  Lord, 
and  have  knelt  there,  to  communicate  with  Him,  and 
now  have  only  to  descend  again  into  that  part  of  the 
Building,  which  lies  behind  the  Altar,  and  so  j^ass  out. 
But  in  what  an  act  have  we  been  ens-aged  !  an  act  whose 
influence  and  effects  should  surely  aj^pear  in  us  after- 
wards. If  we  have  been  faithful  and  believing  commu- 
nicants, the  act  has  been  instrumental  in  uniting  us  to* 
Christ,  and  making  us  one  Spirit  with  the  Lord.  And 
the  exceeding  closeness  of  that  union  who  shall  describe  ? 
It  is  symbolized  to  us  in  this  Sacrament  by  the  union  of - 
food  with  the  bodily  frame.  Now  the  food  which  we 
receive,  in  process  of  time  becomes  part  (and  an  indis- 
tinguishable part)  of  ourselves ;  it  becomes  muscle,  or 
bone,  or  flesh  ;  is  assimilated,  in  short,  to  the  substance 
of  the  body.  This,  and  nothing  less  than  this,  is  the 
union  which  the  Lord  appoints  to  be  symbolical  of  His 


IV.]       Of  the  Sentences  of  Administration.        321 

Oneness  with  His  true  Churcb.  And  observe  another 
doctrine  conveyed  to  us  by  the  Administration.  The 
Bread  and  Wine,  the  symbols  and  vehicles  of  the  Body 
and  Blood,  are  given,  taken,  and  received  separately. 
By  the  separateness  of  the  Elements  is  indicated  the 
Death  of  Christ ;  for  the  separation  of  the  Body  from 
the  Blood,  which  is  the  life  thereof,  is  what  constitutes 
Death.  By  partaking  thereof  separately  of  the  Sac- 
rament of  the  Body  and  Blood,  we  are  united  to  Christ 
in  His  Death.  We  become  one  with  Him  who  died  upon 
the  Cross.  His  Death  is  our  death,  and  we  in  Him 
have  died  unto  sin.  We  have  paid  the  penalty  of  our 
transgression  of  God's  Law,  so  that  Divine  Justice  has 
no  more  any  claim  upon  us.  And  in  doing  so  we  have 
died  to  the  power  of  the  sinful  principle,  which  has  re-: 
laxed  its  grasp  upon  us,  and  set  us  free  to  serve  God  in 
the  newness  of  the  spirit,  and  to  present  to  Him,  our 
wills  being  liberated  from  their  thraldom,  the  reasonable 
sacrifice  of  ourselves,  our  souls  and  bodies.  Such  is  an 
outline  of  the  train  of  thought,  by  which  we  pass  from 
the  Administration  to  the  first  Post-Communion  Prayer, 
which,  with  the  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis,"  must  form  the 
subject  of  another  Lecture. 


322  Of  the  Post-  Communion,  [paet 


LECTURE    IX. 

OF    THE    POST-COMMUNION. 

"  Wc\mt  toovUs  static  Jfcsus,  anO  liftcli  up  ?t?is  fj»cs  to  ^fc^cabcn, 
anH  saiD,  jFatl)n',  tjc  t)oui*  is  come  .  ♦  ,  .  ^nH  tojcn  tijfj)  })aD 
suiifli  an  1)umn,  tljrj)  toeitt  out  into  X\)t  iftdount  of  ©libcs." — 
John  xvii.  1.     Matt,  xxvi.  30. 

In  order  to  derive  its  full  profit  from  the  Holy  Com- 
mLmion,  care  must  be  taken,  not  only  to  prepare  our- 
selves beforehand  for  its  reception,  but  to  guide  the  mind 
and  heart  into  a  right  groove  of  sentiment  subsequently. 
Of  all  exercises  of  Devotion  generally,  and  of  this  in 
particular,  it  is  true  that,  after  having  strung  up  our 
wills  to  them  previously,  we  are  prone  afterwards  to  col- 
lapse. This  is  due  partly  to  natural  infirmity,  which 
cannot  bear  too  long  a  tension  of  the  mind  upon  high 
subjects,  calculated  to  call  out  all  its  powers.  But  then 
this  natural  infirmity,  though  in  itself  innocent,  lays  us 
open  to  real  spiritual  dangers,  indolence,  softness,  and  a 
certain  weariness  (sometimes  amounting  almost  to  dis- 
gust) of  divine  things.  Mere  fatigue  is  no  sin  ;  but  our 
enemies  are  always  at  hand  to  take  their  occasion  from 
fatigue,  or  from  w^hatever  else  seems  to  open  an  avenue 
to  the  will.  And  hence  it  comes  to  pass  that,  as  the  ex- 
perience of  all  good  Christians  will  testify,  at  no  time 
does  Satan  seem  more  on  the  alert, — at  no  time  do  our 
inbred  corruptions  give  us  more  trouble,  than  after  we 
have  devoted  some  good  period  of  time  to  Religious  Ex- 
ercises. To  engage  in  prayer  (and  to  communicate  de- 
voutly, is  to  engage  in  prayer  of  the  highest  kind),  is  to 


^'1  Of  the  Post-Communion.  323 

throw  down  the  glove  to  the  Devil ;  and  those  who  do  so 
rarely  fail  to  find  that  he  picks  it  up  again. 

It  follows,  then,  that  considerable  attention  should 
be  paid  to  the  manner  in  which  w^e  withdraw  from  the 
Presence  of  our  Lord  in  the  Holy  Communion.  A  mu- 
sician not  only  gets  his  instrument  into  tune,  and  makes 
trial  of  it  with  certain  preluding  touches,  before  he  be- 
gins to  play  ;  but  also  brings  the  strain  to  a  regular  and 
gradual  close,  not  breaking  it  off  rudely  and  abruptly, 
but  so  managing  the  strings  or  notes,  that  the  cadence 
shall  gently  die  away  in  the  ear  of  the  listeners.  And 
he  who  would  gather  great  profit  from  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament must  not  only  try  his  heart  by  self-examination 
and  preparatory  prayer  beforehand,  but  also,  when  his 
necessary  intercourse  with  the  world  again  begins,  must 
endeavour  to  retain  upon  his  mind  the  impressions  he 
has  received,  and  allow  them  still  to  vibrate  softly  in  his 
spirit. 

Now  I  believe  that  as  the  Introductory  part  of  the 
Communion  Ofl&ce  is  designed  to  get  the  mind  into  a  suit- 
able frame  for  the  Ordinance,  so  the  latter  part  is  de- 
signed to  indicate  the  spirit  which  we  should  cultivate, 
if  we  wish  duly  to  follow  up  our  Communion,  and  still  to 
inhale  its  atmosphere.  I  do  not  regard  either  part  of 
the  Service  as  having  fulfilled  its  whole  design  to  the 
Communicant,  when  it  has  been  read  through  and  re- 
sponded to  in  Church.  The  Lord's  Prayer  is  not  merely 
destined  for  use  as  a  piece  of  devotion  ;  it  is  throughout 
a  teaching  Prayer,  showing  us  upon  what  blessings  our 
hearts  should  be  most  fondly  set,  for  vv^hat  blessings  we 
must  petition  modestly  and  with  great  reserve,  in  what 
spirit  towards  our  fellow-men  we  must  approach  God, 
and  a  thousand  other  precious  lessons,  which  no  tongue 


324  Of  the  P ostr  Communion,  [paet 

or  pen  can  exhaust.  And  our  Church  Services  are  (of 
course  in  a  lesser  degree,  but  still  in  their  measure)  con- 
structed upon  the  same  principle ;  they  not  only  put 
words  in  our  mouth  when  we  pray  publicly,  but  teach  us 
also  privately,  if  we  study  them,  both  how  Ave  should 
pray,  and  also  how  we  should  desist  from  Prayer.  It  is 
on  this  view  of  their  significance,  that  we  shall  in  this 
Lecture  make  some  remarks  on  the  Prayer  and  Hymn 
which  follow  the  administration,  and  which  go  by  the 
name  of  the  Post-Communion. 

Our  Blessed  Lord,  after  instituting  the  Holy  Supper, 
and  apparently  before  He  left  the  "  large  upper  room 
furnished,"  which  was  the  scene  of  the  Institution,  of- 
fered up  the  great  High-priestly  Prayer,  which  is  record- 
ed in  St  John  xvii.  Then,  before  quitting  the  chamber 
(it  is  thus  that  the  events  of  that  solemn  evening  best 
arrange  themselves) ,  He  sang  with  His  disciples  a  Hymn, 
— in  all  probability  the  latter  part  of  the  great  Hallel  (or 
Hymn  of  praise)  usually  sung  at  the  Jewish  Passover, 
and  consisting  of  six  Psalms,  the  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teenth to  the  one  hundred  and  eighteenth  inclusive. 
That  there  should  be,  then,  certain  public  Devotions 
after  the  Communion  seems  to  be  a  practice  traced  upon 
the  i^rimitive  Institution,  and  quite  accordant  with  our 
Lord's  example.  But  more  than  this.  There  are  one 
or  two  thoughts,  as  w^e  shall  see,  in  our  Lord's  Post- 
Communion  Prayer,  which  find  an  echo,  more  or  less 
distinct,  in  the  Post-Communion  of  our  own  Service. 

1.  Our  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  chapter  referred  to  is 
called  the  Great  High-priestly  Prayer.  It  consists  of  an 
Intercession  for  His  disciples  to  the  end  of  time.  And 
what  is  the  leading  topic  of  this  Intercession  ?  It  is  the 
unity  of  His  followers.     "Holy  Father,  keep  through 


IV.]  Of  the  Post-Communion.  325 

Thine  own  Name"  (literally,  in  Thine  own  Name 
— in  the  acknowledgment  of  it)  "  those  whom  Thou 
hast  given  Me,  that  they  may  he  one,  as  we  are." 
"  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone  ;  but  for  them  also 
which  shall  believe  on  Me  through  their  word  ;  that  they 
all  may  he  one ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  Me,  and  I  in 
Thee,  that  they- also  may  be  one  in  us,  that  the  world 
mav  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me." 

Now  listen  to  the  distinct  echo  of  these  petitions  for 
unity  in  the  noble  Prayer  of  our  Post-Communion. 
After  thanking  God  for  tha't  "  He  doth  vouchsafe  to  feed 
us  with  the  spiritual  food  of  the  most  precious  Body  aud 
Blood  of  His  Son  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  doth 
assure  us  thereby  of  His  favour  and  goodness  towards 
us,  and  that  we  are  very  members  incorporate  in  the 
mystical  Body  of  Sis  Son,  which  is  the  blessed  company 
of  all  faithful  people,"  we  thus  proceed  :  "•  And  we  most 
humbly  beseech  Thee  so  to  assist  us  with  Thy  Grace, 
that  we  jnay  'continue  in  that  holy  fellowship."  In  the 
One  Bread  broken  among  many  communicants,  we  have 
just  seen  the  symbol  of  Christian  unity.  If  we  have 
been  faithful  partakers  of  that  one  Bread,  we  have  been 
drawn  -closer  in  heart  and  sympathy  to  our  Brethren,  by 
the  very  fact  that  we  have  been  di-awn  closer  to  the 
Lord.  It  is  impossible  to  adhere  closely  to  the  Head, 
without  a  close  adherence  to  the  other  members.  So  now 
we  pray  most  appropriately  that  ''we  may  continue  in 
that  holy  fellowship,"  in  which  the  Ordinance,  duly  re- 
ceived, has  placed  us.  Now  by  what  means  (for  this  is 
the  practical  question  for  those  who  have  communicated) 
is  this  continuance  to  be  secured?  Our  Lord  Himself 
points  out  the  means,  when  He  prays,  "  Keep  in  Thine 
own  Name  those  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  that  they 


326  Of  the  Post-Communion,  [pakt 

may  he  one;"  His  beloved  disciple  points  it  out,  whea 
He  writes,  "  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  God  is  in  the 
light,  we  ha^wQ  fellowshiprniQ  with  another."  To  be  kept 
in  God's  Name  is  to  be  kept  in  the  constant  practical 
acknowledgment  of  His  Holiness  on  one  hand,  and  His 
Love  on  the  other.  To  walk  in  the  light  is  only  another 
form  of  stating  the  same  thing.  For  light  is  compoimd- 
ed  of  two  kinds  of  rays,  bright  and  sombre  ;  and  for  this 
reason  God  is  in  the  Scriptures  called  Light,  because  in 
His  character  there  are  the  more  awful,  and  also  the 
more  lovely  and  attractive  perfections.  To  walk  in  the 
light,  then,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  is  to  hold  both  classes 
of  these  perfections  before  the  mind\s  eye,  and  to  be  prac- 
tically influenced  by  both, — in  other  words,  it  is  to  walk 
in  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  A  spirit  of  holy  awe,  which  makes  us  dread 
above  all  things  to  incur  the  Divine  displeasure,  a  spirit 
of  fervent  love,  relieving  that  awe,  and  changing  it  into 
an  aifectionate  reverence — such  a  love  as  takes. away 
from  obedience  the  irksomeness  of  restraint,  and  makes 
God's  service  perfect  freedom, — this  is  the  double  spirit 
which  must  habitually  influence  us,  if  we  would  walk  in 
the  light,  and  be  kept  in  God's  Name.  And  the  natural 
and  necessary  result  of  being  under  the  influence  of  this 
spirit,  will  be  a  holy  fellowship  with  our  Brethren  in 
Christ,  whose  hearts  by  the  same  supernatural  attrac- 
tion are  being  drawn  to  the  same  centre  as  our  own. 
For  the  unity  of  the  true  Church  of  Christ  does  not  stand 
in  any  outward  forms  of  worship  or  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline, but  in  a  living  union  and  communion  with  the 
Church's  Head.  There  may  be  uniformity  where  there 
is  none  of  this  unity,  persons  of  the  most  ojDposite  relig- 
ious  sentiments   and   principles    being   externally   held 


i^-]  Of  the  PosirCommwnion.  327 

together  by  their  nommal  adherence  to  the  same  Relig- 
ious Community.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  this  unity 
may  exist,  where  there  is,  and  can  be,  no  uniformity, 
many  true  servants  of  God  and  followers  of  Christ  being 
doubtless  found  in  all  the  different  sections  of  the  Chris- 
tian world.  It  is  such  a  spiritual  nearness  to  Christ  as 
secures  a  spiritual  nearness  to  our  Brethren,  which  we 
sue  for  in  the  Post-Communion  Prayer,  and  which  is  the 
great  grace  to  be  cultivated  in  pursuance  of  the  Ordi- 
nance, and  as  the  legitimate  expansion  of  it  in  our  lives. 
And  might  not  this  sentiment  be  fostered  by  distinctly 
regarding  our  fellow-Christians  as  members  of  the  Lord's 
Body,  by  representing  them  to  ourselves  as  such,  when 
we  do  acts  of  considerateness  and  kindness  to  them? 
Let  us  think,  when  we  are  doing  ser\ice  to  any  of  them, 
— "  This  is  service  done  to  the  Lord ;  for  so  truly 
and  eutirely  is  He  One  with  His  Church,  that  He  lives 
in  them,  and  is  wounded  or  comforted  through  their 
sides."  Of  a  saint  of  old  it  is  recorded  that  with  the 
greatest  alacrity  she  ministered  to  the  sick  and  suffering, 
from  the  reflection  that  their  outward  circumstances 
were  only  a  disguise,  that  their  poverty  and  maladies 
were  a  sort  of  Sacrament  of  Christ's  Presence,  indicatins: 
where  He  w  as,  and  that  His  Divine  Presence  was  hidden 
underneath  them. 

2.  We  have  spoken  of  holding  the  awful  and  attrac- 
tive perfections  of  God  before  the  eyes  of  our  minds,  and 
of  thus  walking  in  the  Light,  and  having  fellowshiiD  one 
w^ith  another.  The  same  idea  repeats  itself  with  a  very 
slight  modification  in  the  Hymn  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis," 
with  which  the  people's  share  of  the  Office  concludes. 
It  is  a  very  ancient  Hymn,  frequently  mentioned  by 
Chrysostom  as  forming  part  of  the  Communion  Service, 


328  Of  the  Post- Communion,  [paut 

and  used  apparently  bj  the  primitive  Christians  as  a 
Hymn  for  Morning  Devotions.  The  blossom  out  of 
which  this  beautiful  flower  unfolds  itself  is  the  Song  of 
the  Angels  at  the  Nativity,  of  which  the  whole  Hymn  is 
an  expansion.  This  song  was  first  sung  at  Bethlehem, — 
a  village,  whose  name  means  the  House  of  Bread — a 
name  not  without  deep  significance  ;  for  it  was  here  that 
the  living  Bread  was  first  found,  which  came  down  from 
Heaven ; — in  other  words,  it  was  here  that  Our  Lord 
was  born.  His  Body  He  gives  in  this  Sacrament  to  be 
the  food  of  our  souls  ;  and  therefore  at  the  celebration  of 
this  Sacrament,  in  which  His  Body  is  represented  and 
conveyed,  we  appropriately  sing  the  Song  of  the  Nativity  : 
"  Glory  be  to  God  on  high,  and  on  earth  peace,  goodwill 
towards  men,"  and  enlarge  upon  it  with  appropriate 
sentiments  of  devotion.  The  whole  piece  falls  into  three 
Paragraphs, — a  division  pointing  to  the  Three  Persons 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  each  of  whom  is  confessed  in  the 
final  clause.  The  first  Paragraph  is  a  burst  of  exulting 
praise,  in  which  the  Church  upon  Earth  once  again  pre- 
sumes to  re-echo#the  strains  which  float  downwards  to 
Earth  from  angelic  Harps.  But  in  the  second  Paragraph 
she  recognizes  clearly  that  though  even  at  present  privi- 
leged to  join  with  the  choir  of  Heaven,  she  is  still  mih- 
tant — "  tossed  upon  the  waves  of  this  troublesome 
world."  For  this  Paragraph  consists  of  fervent  and 
most  humble  prayers  to  the  one  Mediator  to  have  mercy 
upon  us,  to  look  upon  us  with  pity  from  the  Mediatorial 
Throne,  and  to  receive  our  prayer. 

This  interlacing  of  the  acknowledgment  of  sin  and 
weakness  with  joyous  and  exulting  praise  is  quite  in 
keeping  with  what  we  observed  upon  in  the  former  part 
of  the  Service ;  the  profound  humility  of  the  Prayer  of 


rv.]  Of  the  Post-Communion.  329 

Access  succeeding  immediately  to  the  "  Holy,  Holy, 
Holy,"  of  the  Seraphim.  While  privileged  to  pass 
through  the  veil  into  the  immediate  Presence  Chamber 
of  the  Divine  Majesty,  and  to  worship  God  in  the  very 
strains  which  Angels  themselves  employ,  we  sinners 
must  never  forget  that  we  are  sinners,  sore  beset  by  the 
corruption  of  our  nature  and  sinful  infu-mity,  and  that  it 
is  only  through  the  Mediator  that  we  can  draw  nigh  to 
the  Heavenly  Throne.  And  more  especially  are  these 
reflections  suitable  after  the  Communion,  when  we  are 
just  about  to  close,  and  finally  present  to  God,  our  high 
sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  ;  and  the  most  hasty 
glance  behind  us  upon  the  regulation  of  our  minds  and 
hearts  during  the  performance  of  the  Service  must  serve 
to  show  many  shortcomings,  many  failures  in  fervour 
and  zeal,  if  not  in  attention.  So  this  second  Paragraph 
is  a  virtual  placing  of  our  poor  Services  in  the  hands  of 
the  Mediator,  and  an  implicit  prayer  to  Him  to  take 
away  the  sin  that  is  in  them,  and  then  to  offer  them  for 
us,  and  procure  their  acceptance  by  His  Mediation. 
There  is  something  very  touching  in*  that  part  of  the 
appeal,  "  Thou  that  sittest  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father,  have  mercy  upon  us."  Christ  is  now  exalted  far 
above  the  reach  of  sorrow  and  temptation ;  He  has 
entered  into  His  Glory  ;  and  has  exchanged  the  revilings 
of  men,  which  reached  His  ear  when  on  the  Cross,  for 
the  adoration  of  the  Seraphim.  Yet  we  do  not,  we  can- 
not, believe  that  His  altered  circumstances  have  changed 
His  heart  of  love  towards  us.  Pather  the  contrary.  He 
has  carried  with  Him  into  Heaven  the  dint  made  by  His 
Passion  upon  His  Mind  as  well  as  upon  His  Body ;  and 
the  remembrance  of  what  Pie  underwent  for  us  on  earth 
unlocks  towards  us  the  sluice  of  His  compassion  as  He 


330  Of  the  Post-Communion.  [part 

sits  above.  We  may  be  well  assured  that  He,  wlio  once 
left  the  royalties  of  Heaven  out  of  love  to  us,  will  not, 
now  that  He  has  had  experience  of  our  miseries  on  earth, 
be  unmindful  of  us  amidst  those  royalties.  And  so,  very 
much  in  the  strain  of  the  penitent  robber  (would  that 
we  could  imitate  his  faith  as  closely  as  we  express  his 
sentiments  !),  we  pray  Him  to  remember  us,  now  that  He 
is  come  into  His  Kingdom  : — "  Thou  that  sittest  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  the  Father,  have  mercy  upon  us." 

The  third  Paragraph  again  rises  into  the  language  of 
praise,  ascribing  glory  to  the  Blessed  Trinity,  and 
specially  to  Him  who,  under  the  Mediatorial' Kingdom, 
is  the  Central  Figure  of  the  Sacred  Three,  and  the 
Representative  of  God  to  the  creatures  :  "  Thou  only  art 
holy  ;  Thou  only  art  the  Lord  ;  Thou  only,  O  Christ,  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  art  most  high  in  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father." 

And  now  summarily  to  gather  up  the  teaching  of  our 
Communion  Service  respecting  the  way  in  which  the 
Ordinance  should  be  followed  up.  First,  we  should 
strive  after  a  closer  walk  with  God,  and  a  more  loving 
and  unselfish  fellowship  with  our  Brethren  in  Christ. 
And,  secondly,  we  should  live  much  in  the  element  of 
praise  and  adoration,  endeavouring  to  associate  ourselves 
with  the  company  of  Heaven  in  their  exercises  of  Devo- 
tion, while  at  the  same  time  we  mix  with  these  joyful  and 
exulting  strains,  constant  and  fervent  ejaculations  to  Our 
Lord,  in  acknowledgment  of  our  guilt  and  infirmity,  and 
appeal  from  hour  to  hour  of  each  day,  with  strong 
assurance  of  faith,  to  His  Sympathy  and  Power. 
Endeavour  during  the  week  succeeding  your  Communion, 
to  throw  your  devotional  sentiments  into  this  mould  ;  and 
thus  ascertain  by  experience  the  significance  and  appro- 


lY.]  Of  the  Benediction,  331 

priateness  of  the  Post-Communion  Service,  as  a  sequel  to 
the  Administration  of  the  Holy  Supper. 


LECTURE   X. 

OF   THE    BENEDICTION. 

"  H^t^tt  5J  kabc  foitfj  ajoii,  iHi?  peace  £  cibc  unto  you :  not  as  tj)e 

tao):Iti  fiibcti),  fli'bc  £  unto  jjcu."— John  xiv.  27. 

What  is  a  Benediction?  It  is  of  the  nature  of  an 
Intercessory  Prayer.  The  Church  is  so  bound  up  to- 
gether in  God's  eyes, — nay,  men  in  general  are  so  bound 
up  together  by  common  interests  and  a  common  hope, — 
that  Prayers  are  commanded  to  be  offered  by  all  men  for 
all,  in  acknowledgment  and  in  pursuance  of  this  relation. 
And  the  prayers  wliich  we  offer  for  others,  as  distinct 
from  those  in  which  we  seek  our  own  private  good,  are 
termed  intercessory.  A  Benediction,  however,  though 
of  the  nature  of  an  Intercessory  Prayer,  is  something 
more  specific.  In  the  limited  and  strict  sense  of  the 
Avord,  it  is  an  Intercessory  Prayer,  offered  by  one  w^ho  is 
invested  with  some  authority  over  those  for  whom  he 
prays.  The  authority  maybe  natural,  civil,  or  ecclesias- 
tical. Of  benedictions,  bestowed  on  the  ground  of  nat- 
ural authority  over  the  persons  receiving  them,  we  have 
instances  in  the  history  of  the  Patriarchs.  We  read  of 
Isaac  blessing  Jacob  and  Esau,  of  Jacob  blessing  Eph- 
raim  and  Manasseh.  Again  ;  we  find  David  and  Solo- 
mon blessing  their  people,  the  one  at  the  introduction  of 
the  ark  into  the  new  Tabernacle,  which  had  been  pro- 


332  Of  the  Benediction.  [paet 

videcl  for  it,  the  other  at  the  dedication  of  the  Temple. 
Here  the  authority  must  have  been  civil  or  political ;  for 
the  kings  of  Israel  did  not  belong  to  the  tribe  in  which 
was  the  Priesthood.  But  finally  the  authority  to  bless 
may  be  ecclesiastical.  One  chief  function  of  the  sacred 
tribe  of  Levi  under  the  Mosaic  Ritual  was  to  bless  in  the 
Name  of  the  Lord  ;  and  for  the  performance  of  this  func- 
tion by  the  Priests  a  special  formulary  was  prescribed  by 
Jehovah  Himself.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
saying,  Speak  unto  Aaron  and  unto  his  sons,  saying.  On 
this  wise  ye  shall  bless  the  children  of  Israel,  saying  unto 
them,  The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee ;  The  Lord 
make  Llis  face  shine  upon,  thee,  and  be  gracious  unto 
thee :  The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  thee,  and 
give  thee  peace." 

Conformably  to  the  genius  of  Christianity,  which  no- 
where (save  in  the  Lord's  Prayer)  prescribes  any  fotmu- 
lary,  and  which  is  generally  averse  to  such  prescription, 
as  teaching  us  to  ser-^e  God,  not  in  the  oldness  of  the 
letter,  but  in  the  newness  of  the  spirit,  no  words  of  Ben- 
ediction are  enjoined  in  the  New  Testament  upon  the 
Christian  IMinister  ; — the  form  is  left  free  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Church,  guided  (as  she  was  to  be)  by  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  ever  present  in  her.  But  Avho  can  doubt 
that  the  authority  to  bless  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord  still 
remains  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Church,  now  that  that 
Ministry,  like  the  Church  itself,  has  been  brought  out 
into  the  clearer  light  of  the  New  Dispensation  ?  Nay  ; 
who  can  doubt  not  only  that  the  authority  remains,  but 
that  the  exercise  of  it  is  attended  with  results  of  a  much 
higher  order,  results  which  reach  much  deeper  into  the 
inner  and  true  life  of  the  soul,  than  it  was  under  the 
former  state  of  thinjrs  ?     As  much  as  the  ministration  of 


IV.]  Of  the  Benediction,  333 

righteousness  exceeds  in  glory  the  ministration  of  con- 
demnation, in  such  proportion  must  the  Benedictions  of 
the  Christian  be  more  blessed  and  more  effectual  than 
those  of  the  Jewish  minister.  Only  let  it  not  be  forgot- 
ten that  neither  has  the  smallest  absolute  and  independ- 
ent authority ;  neither  is  more  than  a  minister.  The 
office  of  Ministry,  whether  under  the  old  or  new  Dispen- 
sation, is  only  a  channel  and  vehicle,  by  no  means  a 
source,  of  Grace.  It  is  not  really  the  minister  in  either 
case  who  blesses,  but  Christ  who  thus  uses  His  ministry. 
The  source  and  fountain  of  all  Benediction  is  Our  Lord's 
Intercession  for  us  in  Heaven.  He  intercedes  for  us  as 
being  bone  of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  connected 
with  us  by  a  natural  tie  ;  as  being  King  of  Kings,  of 
whose  authority  earthly  dominion  is  but  a  shadow  ;  and 
finally  as  being  the  great  High  Priest,  who  has  entered 
into  the  Heavenly  Sanctuary  with  His  own  Blood. 
When  His  Ministers  bless  His  People  in  His  Name,  it  is 
an  echo  of  His  continual  and  effective  Benediction  float- 
ing doA\'Ti  to  the  Earth,  and  intercepted  in  the  Ordinances 
of  the  Church. 

We  will  now  consider,  in  closing  this  series  of  Lec- 
tures, the  particular  form  which  our  Church  has  given 
to  her  most  solemn  Benediction, — that  which  occurs  at 
tlie  end  of  the  Communion  Office.  It  runs  thus  :  "  The. 
Peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding,  keep 
your  hearts  and  minds  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
God,  and  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord :  and  the 
blessing  of  God  Almighty,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  amongst  you  and  remain  with  you  al- 
ways.    Aiiien" 

The  former  clause,  which  speaks  of  the  Peace  of 


334  Of  the  Benediction.  [paet 

Grod,  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  the  first  E.eformed 
Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  nor,  we  are  persuaded,  could 
any  form  of  words  be  devised  more  appropriate  and  more 
scriptural. 

Here  again  the  words  are  traced  upon  the  history 
which  has  come  down  to  us  of  the  original  Institution. 
For  it  was  after  the  Last  Supper  (see  the  second  verse 
of  chapter  xiii.)  that  the  words  of  my  text  were  spoken, 
when  Our  Lord,  on  the  eve  of  parting  with  them,  was 
addressing  to  His  disciples  those  most  precious  farewell 
counsels,  contained  in  the  fourteenth  and  two  following 
chapters  of  St.  John.  Adieu  is  the  solemn  and  tender 
key-note  of  those  chapters  throughout ;  and  in  the  verse 
before  us  the  key-note  is  sounded  alone.  "•  Peace  be 
with  you,"  or  "  Go  in  peace,"  was  the  common  form  of 
valediction  current  in  Jewish  society,  just  as  "  God  be 
with  you  "  (now  corrupted  into  "  Good-bye  ")  is  in  our 
own.  Perhaps  it  is  from  the  feeling  that  there  is  some- 
thing hollow  and  purely  conventional  in  "  Good-bye," — 
that,  like  a  coin  whose  image  and  superscription  have 
worn  away  by  constant  friction,  it  now  no  longer  has 
any  religious  significance, — perhaps  it  is  for  this  reason 
that  in  our  more  solemn  partings  from  those  in  whom 
we  are  specially  interested,  w^e  rather  say,  ''  God  bless 
you."  A  thought  not  dissimilar  to  this  (so  far  as  we 
may  presume  to  trace  His  divine  thoughts)  ga^^  rise  to 
the  solemn  words  before  us.  In  giving  His  parting 
salute  to  His  disciples,  Our  Lord,  who  has  lived  by  the 
wayside  of  human  life  throughout  His  career,  who  has 
been  mixed'  up  wdth  its  cares,  and  interests,  and  sorrows, 
and  joys,  yea,  who  has  constantly  moved  in  the  midst  of 
its  conventionalities  and  sins,  though  He  Himself  was 
the  True  and  the  Pure  One,  will  not  deviate  from  the 


IV.]  Of  the  Benediction.  335 

forms  of  courtesy  commonly  in  use  in  His  age  and  among 
His  people.  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you,"  says  He,  as  the 
manner  was,  when  friends  were  parting.  Yet  He-  will 
rescue  this  good  and  godly  phrase  from  the  insignifi- 
cance and  trite  commonplace  into  which  it  had  sunk, 
and  I  mint  it  afresh,  and  issue  it  with  a  new  device,  and 
in  all  the  shining  radiance  of  a  Gospel  Benediction,  from 
the  treasury  of  God.  In  that  disturbed  and  'unsettled 
state  of  the  nation  of  Israel,  which  covers  so  very  large 
a  space  of  their  early  history  as  a  people,  it  is  no  wonder 
if  Peace  were  thought  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  bless- 
ings,— if  to  wish  a  man  Peace  was  virtually  to  wish  him 
prosperity  in  every  form, — to  wish  that  he  might  sit 
under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig-tree  to  a  good  old  age, 
while  his  children  were  as  olive  branches  round  about 
his  table.  But  our  Blessed  Redeemer  gives  the  valedic- 
tion quite  another  turn,  takes  it  out  of  the  circle  of  • 
worldly  prosperity,  and  makes  it  reach  to  the  inner  man 
of  the  heart.  "  My  peace,"  says  He,  "  I  give  unto 
you  ;  "  "  the  peace  with  God  which  is  purchased  for  you 
with  My  Blood,  the  seat  of  which  is  the  spirit  within, 
and  which  no  outward  reverses  can  destroy,  because  they 
cannot  reach  it.  Moreover,  there  is  another  great  differ- 
ence between  this  valediction,  as  it  is  in  the  world's 
mouth,  and  as  it  is  in  Mine.  The  world  can  at  the  ut- 
most only  wish  you  peace.  It  is  incompetent  to  do  more. 
A  friend,  torn  for  he  knows  not  how  long  from  those  in 
whom  he  is  deeply  interested,  is  no  doubt  fervent  enough 
in  desiring  for  them  every  blessing.  Ah!  if  he  could 
only  communicate  all  the  good  he  wishes,  to  those  whom 
he  is  leaving  behind,  liow  happy  would  their  lot  be  ! 
But  good  wishes  are  all  he  has  to  give.  Not  so  with 
Me  and  you,  whom  I  have  called  My  friends.     My  val- 


336  Of  the  Benediction.  [pakt 

ediction  is  not  so  much  votive  as  effective ;  it  is  not  so 
much  a  wish  as  a  bestowal.  My  peace  I  (j^ive  nnto  you." 
With  us  willing  and  doing  are  separate  things.  The 
will  may  exist  where  the  power  is  absent.  But  it  is  not 
[so  with  God.  It  is  not  so  with  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  is 
God.  Their  will  instantaneously  takes  effect,  even  in 
the  far  corners  of  Creation,  as  it  is  said,  '.'  He  spake, 
and  it  was  done:  He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast;" 
"  Whatsoever  the  Lord  pleased,  that  did  He  in  heaven, 
and  in  the  earth,  and  in  the  sea,  and  in  all  deep  places." 
Accordingly  with  them,  willing  and  doing  is  identical ; 
and  to  wish  peace,  on  the  part  of  God  or  of  Christ,  is  to 
give  peace.  "•  My  peace  I  give  unto  you."  What  a 
legacy!  Was  ever  any  such  bequeathed  before?  "I 
take  of  the  peace,  which  exists  in  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
My  humanity, — the  peace  which  flows  from  a  firm  and 
tranquil  confidence  in  the  Father, — and  with  the  arm  of 
Isbj  Omnipotence,  I  reach  it  down  into  your  hearts,  and 
make  you  partakers  of  it." 

Now  the  echoes  of  this  valedictory  word  of  Christ 
(spoken,  you  observe,  "  after  supper  was  ended")  we 
hear  in  the  sentence  which  concludes  our  Communion 
Office  :  "  The  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing, keep  your  hearts  and  minds  in  the  knowledge 
and  love  of  God." 

But  here  another  passage  of  Scripture  flows  into  the 
current  of  our  argument,  and  lends  its  aid  to  show  the 
great  appropriateness  of  these  words  to  the  occasion  on 
which  they  arc  used. 

The  former  part  of  the  Blessing  is  only  an  adaptation 
of  the  Divine  Promise,  made  through  !St.  Paul  to  persons 
under  anxiety,  on  their  fulfilment  of  a  certain  condition.- 
The  Apostle's  words  are  these  :  "  Be  careful  for  nothing, 


TV.']  Of  the  Benediction,  337 

but  in  every  tiling  by  prayer  and  supplication  "svitli 
thanksgiving  let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God. 
And  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding, 
shall  keep  your  hearts  and  minds  through  Jesus  Christ.'* 

The  peace  of  God  is  covenanted  by  promise  to  those 
who  refer  their  wants  and  wishes  to  God  in  Prayer,  and 
mix  thanksgiving  with  the  supplication.  Now  the  Holy 
Communion  is  the  Church's  great  act  of  Prayer  and 
Thanksgiving  ;  indeed  her  only  public  act  originally.  As 
things  were  in  quite  the  primitive  days,  this  was  the  only 
distinctively  Christian  Service.  Morning  Prayer,  Even- 
ing Prayer,  Prayer  at  the  various  hours,  did  not  come 
into  a  separate  existence  until  long  afterwards.  Indeed, 
the  application  of  the  vv'Ord  Liturgy,  or  Public  Service,  to 
all  the  Offices  of  the  Church,  is  comparatively  modern  ; 
by  an  ancient  Liturgy  is  meant  merely  and  exclusively  an 
Office  for  the  Communion.  The  Eucharist  then  being 
really  the  Church's  highest  act  of  Prayer,  the  Service  for 
it  is  most  suitably  ended  by  a  reference  to  that  Peace, 
which  God  by  His  Apostle  has  promised  to  faithful 
Prayer. 

Only  observe  that  in  order  to  entitle  each  petitioner, 
under  the  terras  of  the  promise,  to  this  peace,  the  prayer 
must  be  real  prayer,  a  true  outpouring  of  the  heart  with 
all  ij:s  felt  necessities  before  God.  Let  us  labour  to  make 
our  prayers  such  ;  and  that  not  only  in  our  private  cham- 
bers, but  at  the  time  of  our  Communion.  This  particular 
Service  offers  more  opportunities  of  doing  so  than  any 
other.  In  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer  there  is  usually 
no  pause,  a  circumstance  which  is  perhaps  to  be  regret- 
ted ;  for  as  we  are  told  that  Our  Lord  is  specially  present 
among  assembled  worshippers,  devout  persons  must  feel 
a  desire  to  bring  at  that  particular  time  to  the  Throne  of 
15 


338  Of  the  Benediction,  [paet 

Grace  all  the  burdens  and  cares  of  which  they  are 
privately  conscious.  But  except  just  at  the  beginning 
and  end  of  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  no  time  for 
doing  this  can  be  secured.  In  the  Communion  it  is 
otherwise.  There  the  time  which  must  necessarily 
elapse,  while  others  are  communicating,  offers  a  good 
opportunity  of  referring  secretly  to  God  every  want  and 
wish  of  the  heart ;  or  I  should  rather  say,  every  want  and 
wish  which  can  bear  to  meet  His  eye.  And  every  innocent 
want  and  wish,  even  on  temporal  matters,  may  freely 
meet  His  eye,  and  ought  to  be  made  to  do  so  in  com- 
pliance with  the  terms  of  the  precept, — "  In  every  thing 
by  prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  let  your 
requests  be  made  known  unto  God." 

.  Only  let  it  be  understood  that  requests  for  earthly 
blessings  must  be  simply  presented  to  God,  and  not 
offered  unconditionally  and  irrespectively  of  our  own 
highest  good,  and  His  will  and  plan  for  us.  The  promise, 
be  it  observed,  is  not  that  the  request  shall  be  granted  in 
the  form  in  which  it  is  offered  ;  but  that  an  inward  peace 
shall,  after  this  reference  of  the  matter  to  God,  still  all 
the  uneasy  cravings  of  the  heart,  and  keep  the  mind 
fresh  and  uncankered  in  the  midst  of  trouble.  And  this 
will  be,  if  our  minds- are  kept  in  the  knowledge,  and  our 
hearts  in  the  love  of  God  ;  that  is,  if  we  remain  persuad- 
ed by  faith  of  His  all-sufficiency  and  willingness  to  sup- 
ply our  needs,  and  maintain  towards  Him  that  affection- 
ate confidence,  which  is  its  own  assurance  against  dis- 
appointment. If  we  look  for  this  from  our  petitions,  and 
only  for  this,  we  may  ask  what  we  will,  and  make  known 
any  requests  to  our  Heavenly  Father.  And  thus  to  ask 
what  we  will,  to  make  specific  petitions  having  reference 
to  our  own  case,  to  lay  down  that  burden  at  the  Tlirone, 


IV.]  Of  the  Benediction.  339 

under  whicli  m'g  ourselves  secretly  groan,  -will  throw  into 
the  Service  of  the  Holy  Communion  a  reality  and  a  life, 
which  there  can  hardly  be  in  any  Service,  where  all 
through  from  beginning  to  end  we  are  required  to  beud 
our  desires  into  a  rigid  framework,  prepared  beforehand. 
Excellent  as  our  written  forms  of  Prayer  are,  and  neces- 
sary as  we  conceive  them  to  be  for  the  devout  and  intel- 
ligent conduct  of  Public  Worship,  it  is  no  doubt  very 
necessary  to  w'atch  against  formality  in  the  constant  use 
of  them,  and  to  ask  ourselves  now  and  then  with  very 
great  seriousness,  not  only,  "  How  far  have  I  been  atten- 
tive during  this  Service?"  but  the  much  deeper  ques- 
tion, "  How  far  has  my  heart  spoken  to  God  in  these 
Prayers?" 

For  if  a  man's  prayer  (in  this  or  any  other  Ordi- 
nance) be  not  the  utterance  of  the  heart, — if  there  be  no 
felt  want,  nor  any  representation  of  it  to  God,  but  only  (at 
best)  the  fulfilment  of  an  acknowledged  duty,  and  the 
satisfaction  of  conscience  thereby,  how  can  such  a  prayer 
win  the  covenanted  Peace,  the  Peace  which  Christ 
imparts,  the  Peace  of  God  which  passeth  understanding  ? 
Observe  the  result  which  our  Lord  Himself  points  out,  as 
that  which  must  occur  in  such  a  case.  "  Into  whatso- 
ever house  ye  enter,  first  say,  Peace  be  to  this  house. 
And  if  the  son  of  Peace  "  (the  better  reading  is,  a  son  of 
Peace)  "  be  there,  your  peace  shall  rest  upon  it :  if  not, 
it  shall  turn  to  you  again."  Thi^  passage  lays  down  a 
great  law  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  by  which  all 
Benedictions  issued  in  that  Kingdom  are  ruled.  The 
Blessing  really  goes  forth  in  the  name,  and  by  the 
authority  of  Christ,  from  the  lips  of  the  commissioned 
messenger.  Yet  it  lights  not  except  on  sons  of  peace, — 
those  whom  God's  secret  Grace  has  brou^^^ht  into  a  state 


340  Of  the  Benediction,  [paet 

of  discipline  and  preparation  for  it.  The  dawn  opened 
its  rosy  eyelids  morning  by  morning  on  many  a  statue 
besides  Memnon's ;  but  none  but  Memnon's  had  the 
chords  of  music  wrought  within  ;  and  therefore  none  but 
Memnon's  vibrated  melodiously  at  the  touch  of  the  dawn. 
Or,  to  use  a  better  and  a  sacred  illustration,  the  dove 
which  Noah  put  forth  from  the  ark,  flew  over  the  waste 
of  Avaters,  but,  finding  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  her  foot, 
returned  again  to  him  into  the  ark.  And  when  again  he 
sent  her  forth,  again  she  returned,  and  with  an  Olive 
Branch  in  her  mouth,  a  token  that  now  there  was  at 
least  one  spray  visible,  on  which  the  fowls  of  the  air 
might  alight.  The  Peace  of  God  resembles  that  dove. 
It  issues  forth  in  Divine  Ordinance,  and  in  this  Ordinance 
more  especially,  through  the  ministry  of  Man.  But  it 
by  no  means  rests  on  every  partaker  of  the  Ordinance. 
It  finds  out  sons  of  Peace,  and  nestles  in  their  bosoms. 
From  the  rest,  from  those  who  have  not  the  elements  of 
Peace  within, — who  present  themselves  in  the  congre- 
gation of  the  righteous,  without  faith,  or  fervent  desire, 
or  holy  longing, — it  turns  away.  The  "  Holy  Dove,  the 
Messenger  of  rest,"  cannot  harbour  where  sin,  or 
hypocrisy,  or  formality,  or  worldliness,  prevail  and  reign. 
AVhat  a  lesson  is  there  in  this  thought  of  the  necessity 
of  a  certain  congeniality  to  this  Ordinance,  if  we  desire 
to  profit  by  it !  Most  true  it  is  that  all  God's  Ordi- 
nances, in  virtue  of  their  being  appointed  by  Him, 
have  their  blessing  annexed  to  them,  and  going  forth 
from  them  !  They  are  none  of  them  empty  channels, 
without  virtue  and  efficacy  ;  they  are  all  means  of  Grace. 
But  it  by  no  means  follow^  hence  that  the  Grace  reaches 
indiscriminately  all  Avho  attend  upon  them.  As  it  is 
with  the  Word,  so  it  is  with  all  other  means  of  Grace. 


IV.]  Of  the  Benediction.  341 

The  Word  lights  on  some  beaten  road,  where  it  finds  no 
lodgment  at  all ;  on  some  thorny  soil,  where  it  is  stran- 
gled ;  on  some  shallow  soil,  where  it  withers  away.  On 
the  good  ground  only  does  it  spring  up,  and  bring  forth 
fruit  an  hundredfold.  Then,  in  the  case,  of  this  holy 
Sacrament,  do  we  do  our  part  to  train  the  heart  before- 
hand to  the  required  correspondence?  Do  we  come  to 
the  Holy  Table  with  at  least  a  strong  appetite  for  spirit- 
ual blessino-s?  Have  we  that  huno-er  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  to  which  the  promise  of  satisfaction  is 
made  ?  Have  we  the  longing  particularly  to  go  forward 
in  the  ways  of  God,  and  to  attain  that  high  degree  of  , 
spirituality  and  holiness,  to  which  God  has  indisputably 
called  all  who  hear  the  Gospel,  and  which  some  choice 
souls,  under  disadvantages,  and  trials,  and  temptations 
certainly  not  less  discouraging  than  our  own,  have 
actually  reached  ?  Then  doubtless,  in  proportion  to  the 
sincerity  and  fervour  of  this  desire,  we  shall  find  this 
holy  Sacrament  to  be  a  real  power  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  shall  carry  away  from  it  that  Peace,  which  lies 
at  the  root  of  all  Christian  energy,  and  which  can  main- 
tain itself  in  the  face  of  the  greatest  outward  discomforts 
and  discomposures.  What  a  crown  is  this  Peace  to  the 
various  emotions  which  foregoing  parts  of  the  Service 
have  called  out ! 


APPEIs^DIX. 


A      SERMON      DIRECTED      AGAINST      TRANSUBSTANTIATION 
AND     KINDRED     ERRORS. 

John  iv.  49,  50.     Matt.  viii.  8,  9,  10. 

"  Tlie  nobleman  saith  unto  Rim^  Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child, 

die.    Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Go  thy  way  ;  thy  son  liveth?'' 
"  The  centurion  answered  and  said,  Lord,  I  am  not  icortliy 

that  Thou  shouldest  come  under  my  roof:  butspeah  the-word 

only,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed. 
"  For  I  am  a  man  under  authority,  having  soldiers  under  me: 

and  I  say  to  this  man,  Go,  and  he  goeth;  and  to  another, 

Come,  and  he  cometh ;  and  to  my  servant,  Bo  this,  and  he 

doeth  it. 
"  Wlien  Jesus  heard  it.  He  marvelled,  and  said  to  them  that 

followed.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great 

faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.'''' 

The  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son,  recorded  by  St. 
John,  reminds  us  of  the  cure  of  the  centurion's  servant, 
under  circumstances  in  some  respects  similar.  Both 
nobleman  and  centurion  -were  of  Capernaum.  The  son 
in  one  case,  the  servant  in  the  other,  was  healed  by  an 
act  of  Our  Lord's  will,  operating  upon  them  while  they 
were  at  a  distance  from  Him.     But  beyond  these  two 


344  Appendix. 

points,  the  contrast  of  the  two  cases  (a  contrast  which 
Augustine  and  others  have  drawn  out  in  detail)  is  more 
remarkable  than  their  resemblance. 

One  man  was  a  centurion, — a  position  which  may  be 
represented  with  tolerable  accuracy  to  our  minds  by 
calling  him  a  non-commissioned  officer  of  the  Roman 
army.  The  other  was  a  nobleman,  or,  as  perhaps  the 
word  might  be  rendered,  a  person  engaged  in  the  royal 
household,  a  courtier.  It  is  most  interesting  to  observe, 
in  reference  to  this  difference  of  position,  how  Our  Lord 
volunteered  a  visit  to  the  house  of  the  little  man  ("  Jesus 
saith  unto  him,  I  will  come  and  heal  him  ")  ;  but  made 
no  such  offer  to  come  under  the  roof  of  the  great  man, 
nor  to  move  from  the  place  where  He  then  was.  Elisha 
does  not  stir  when  an  honourable  captain  comes  "  with 
his  horses  and  with  his  chariot,"  and  stands  at  the  door 
of  his  house ;  and  Christ  does  not  stir  when  a  member 
of  the  royal  household  implores  Him  to  "  come  down 
and  heal  his  son."  The  messengers  of  God  accept  no 
man's  person.  The  nobleman's  interest  was  in  a  son, 
and  flowed  from  natural  affection.  The  centurion's 
interest  was  in  a  servant  or  slave,  and  argues  him,  in  the 
then  estimate  usually  formed  of  slaves,  to  have  been  a 
man  of  kindly  feeling  and  general  sympathy.  It  never 
seems  to  have  crossed  the  nobleman's  mind  that  he  was 
unworthy  of  a  visit  from  Our  Lord.  The  centurion,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  quite  overwhelmed  by  the  prospect  of 
such  an  honour :  "  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou 
shouldest  come  under  my  roof."  Finally  (and  this  is 
the  point  to  which  I  propose  this  morning  to  draw  your 
attention),  the  nobleman  seems  never  to  conceive  tlie 
possibility  of  Christ's  healing  at  a  distance.  If  the  Lord 
is  to  restore  his  son.  He  must  be  under  the  same  roof, 


Ajypendix.  345 

and  in  the  same  room  with  the  patient :  "  Sir,  come 
down  ere  my  child  die."  The  centurion,  on  the  other 
hand,  expressly  avows  his  conviction  that  Christ's  Pres- 
ence is  not  needed  to  perform  the  cure  which  he  solicited. 
A  word,  a  beck,  a  nod,  a  mere  signification  of  the  will 
from  a  Person  possessed  of  such  extraordinary  powers 
Avill  abundantly  suffice  :  "  Speak  the  word  only,  and  my 
servant  shall  be  healed."  And  the  way  in  which  from 
the  circle  of  his  own  experience  he  reasons  himself  into 
this  faith  is  very  remarkable.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
discipline  of  a  camp  or  an  army,  in  which  the  various 
arrangements  and  movements  are  ordered  at  head-quar- 
ters, and  executed  by  subordinates.  "When  this  is  done 
on  a  large  scale,  there  is  certainly  something  very  im- 
posing in  the  authority  which  the  will  of  a  single  individ- 
ual exerts.  The  centurion  would  think  of  the  Reman 
emperor,  the  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  of  the 
state,  whether  in  the  most  distant  provinces,  or  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  seat  of  empire.  Let  us  imagine 
Tiberius,  the  then  emperor,  as  he  indulged  his  passion 
for  retirement  and  vicious  pleasures  in  the  secluded 
island  of  Caprete,  taking  a  whim  that  some  legion  should 
be  removed  from  one  extremity  of  the  empire  to  another. 
He  need  not  stir  to  effect  such  an  arrangement.  He 
speaks  a  word  to  his  secretary,  directing  him  to  make 
out  the  order,  and  send  it  forthwith  to  Rome.  From 
Rome  it  flies  by  a  succession  of  couriers  along  those 
great  roads,  which,  like  arteries,  traversed  the  empire  in 
all  directions,  and  are  even  now  the  best  monuments  of 
Roman  civilization,  until  it  reaches  its  destination.  Im- 
mediately all  is  movement  and  hurry  in  the  camp,  strik- 
ing of  tents,  and  bringing  out  of  wagons,  and  packing  of 
movables,  and  in  the  morning,  at  the  call  of  the  trumpet, 
15* 


346  Appendix. 

the  legion  is  on  its  way  to  the  far  East,  or  far  West, 
leaving  behind  it  the  mound  which  formed  its  rampart, 
and  the  trench,  to  become  in  future  generations  a  study 
for  the  antiquary.  Five  or  six  thoasand  men  are  swept 
from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other  by  the  will  of  a 
despot  a  thousand  miles  away.  "  If  I  now,"  reasoned 
the  centurion, — "  quite  a  subordinate  link  in  the  great 
chain  of  military  authority, — if  even  I,  by  an  order  to 
my  private  soldiers,  or  my  servant,  can  alter  the  state  of 
things  in  the  troop  under  my  command  without  my  own 
personal  intervention,  cannot  this  extraordinary  Man, 
who  has  evidently  the  powers  of  nature  at  His  command 
(for  He  has  stilled  the  tempest.  He  has  cleansed  the 
leper,  He  has  cast  out  devils.  He  has  raised  the  dead), 
raise  up  my  servant  from  his  bed  of  languishing,  without 
moving  from  the  spot  where  He  at  present  is  ?  There- 
fore, '  Lord,  trouble  not  Thyself;  but  say  in  a  word,  and 
my  servant  shall  be  healed/  " 

This  man's  faith,  then,  was  in  fact  an  enlarged  con- 
ception of  the  power  of  Christ, — such  a  conception  as 
the  nobleman  wanted,  and  as  Our  Lord  sought  to  create 
in  him.  In  the  other  great  instance  of  faith  commended 
by  Our  Lord,  the  faith  stands  in  an  enlarged  conception 
of  the  love  of  Christ.  The  Syrophoenician  too  reasons 
herself  into  this  faith  from  the  facts  of  her  experience. 
She  had  observed  that  in  the  great  system  of  God's  uni- 
verse provision  is  made  for  the  wants  of  the  inferior 
creatures.  Bread  is  for  .men,  not  dogs  ;  but  still  dogs 
get  some  portions  of  it,  the  fragments  which  the  master 
wipes  his  hands  with,  and  flings  down  on  the  floor.  If  a 
fragment  of  good  bread  is  thrown  to  a  dog,  may  not  she, 
although  an  outcast  of  the  Gentiles,  have  a  fragment  of 
mercy  bestowed  upon  her  ?     Despite  all  the  apparent  un- 


Appendix.  347 

gracionsness  of  His  answers,  slie  "believes  that  the  frag- 
ment will  be  thrown  to  her,  and  perseveres  in  her  appli- 
cation. 

But  to  return  to  the  centurion's  faith,  and  the  point 
in  which  it  contrasted  with  the  nobleman's. 

The  nobleman's  faith,  then,  was  poor  and  narrow,  be- 
cause he  conceived  the  exercise  of  Our  Lord's  power  to 
be  limited  by  the  condition  of  His  Bodily  Presence.  The 
centurion's  faith  was  large  and  generous,  because  he 
reckoned  that  Our  Lord's  power  to  heal  was  in  no  way 
dependent  on  His  Bodily  Presence ;  that  He  had  hosts 
of  subordinate  agencies  at  command  in  every  district  of 
Creation,  who  would  execute  His  will  immediately  upon 
its  being  signified.  This  is  the  faith  which  Christ  com- 
mends and  approves,  yea,  which  in  an  heir  of  sinful  flesh 
and  blood  He  marvels  at.  We  shall  attempt  to  show 
our  own  backwardness  in  this  kind  of  faith,  and  to  re- 
prove ourselves,  who  have  so  much  clearer  light  than  he 
had,  by  the  example  of  this  centurion. 

First,  then,  we  remark  that  there  is  a  tendency  in  the 
human  mind, — a  tendency  which  has  made  itself  only  too 
manifest  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  to  crave  after  the 
bodily  visible  presence  of  our  Lord.  Who  can  doubt 
that  this  tendency  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  Roman  doctrine 
of  Transubstantiation  ?  It  is  very  easy  to  rail  at  Tran- 
substantiation  in  the  ordinary  coarse  way,  and  to  decry 
the  revolting  absurdities  which  seem  to  be  involved  in 
such  a  tenet.  But  surely  it  were  better  far  to  consider 
whether  there  is  not  some  instinct  in  the  fallen  mind  of 
man,  which  may  have  prompted  this  fatal  error,  and 
whether  we  ourselves  are  not  apt  to  be  misled  by  the 
same  instinct  in  another  form.  Putting  aside  all  the 
subtleties  which  the  wits  of  Theologians  have  woven  like 


348  Appendix, 

so  many  cobwebs  round  this  dogma,  and  the  hard  terms, 
such  as  "  substance  "  and  "  accidents,"  in  which  they 
have  attempted  to  explain  and  vindicate  it,  I  take  the 
idea  which  the  tenet  conveys  to  a  plain  simple-minded 
Romanist  to  be  exactly  this  :  that  usually,  and  even  under 
the  circumstances  of  ordinary  worship,  Our  Blessed  Lord 
is  locally  in  Heaven,  observing  us,  no  doubt,  and  listen- 
ing to  our  prayers,  but  still  at  a  vast  distance  from  us  ; 
but  that  on  the  utterance  by  the  Priest  of  the  words  of  ■ 
Consecration  He  is  drawn  down  into  the  Church,  and  lies 
concealed  under  the  Consecrated  Elements,  so  that  the 
state  of  things  is  really  just  the  same  as  when  He  visited 
the  Apostles  from  time  to  tim.e  after  the  Resurrection, 
and  ate  and  drank  with  them,  and  showed  them  the 
wounds  in  His  hands  and  side.  A  pious  and  simple 
Romanist,  who  has  no  head  for  subtleties,  thinks  that  He 
pays  very  similar  visits  to  Plis  Church  now,  whenever 
mass  is  celebrated,  and  that  the  elements  are  merely  a 
disguise,  which  it  pleases  Him  to  we*ar  while  making  the 
visit.  And,  absurd  as  the  tenet  is  when  stated  in  its 
bare  logical  form,  there  are  feelings  in  the  human  heart 
which  will  explain  its  being  taken  up  with.  Are  we 
quite  sure  that  when  reading  the  Gospels,  we  ourselves 
have  never  longed  for  the  privilege  vouchsafed  to  the 
Apostles  of  having  our  Master  with  us  in  Bodily  Pres- 
ence ;  of  being  able  to  put  questions  to  Him  on  our  dif- 
ficulties and  elicit  answers  ;  of  being  allowed  to  look  up 
into  the  lineaments  of  His  majestic  and  loving  coun- 
tenance, and  see  there  the  very  expression  which 
harmonized  with  the  occasion,  whether  of  tenderness,  or 
trouble,  or  joy,  or  severity,  or  simple  serene  peace? 
And  has  a  thought  never  insinuated  itself  that  the 
Apostles,   whatever   their    privileges  ,  afterwards,   were 


Ajp^endix,  ,  349 

great  losers  by  the  withdrawal  of  this  sort  of  Presence  ; 
that  there  was  in  it  a  support,  and  a  comfort,  and  a 
strength  which  could  not  be  made  up  for  by  what  occurred 
at  Pentecost,  or,  ia  other  words,  by  a  Spiritual  Pres- 
ence ?  In  short,  does  the  state  of  things  represented  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  seem  to  us  meagre  and  unsatis- 
factory in  contrast  with  that  glorious  fulness  of  privilege, 
which  they  enjoyed  while  their  Master  was  with  them? 
It  is  probable  that  some  such  thoughts  have  at  times 
crossed  the  minds  of  all  devout  persons.  There  is  a 
certain  phase  of  feeling  in  which  the  Lord  is  regarded  as 
a  human  friend,  association  with  whom  in  the  flesh 
would  be  the  greatest  of  all  privileges,  if  it  could  be 
permitted,  and  would  bring  us  under  an  influence  for 
good  which  nothing  else  could  supply.  That  is  probably 
'the  feeling  which  Transubstantiation  seems  to  meet  in  the 
mind  of  those  vrho  adopt  it,  and  which,  aided  by  a  strong 
effort  of  the  imaginative  faculty,  it  seems  to  satisfy.  The 
Lord  is  supposed  to  be  among  His  people  as  heretofore, — 
to  occupy  a  certain  space  upon  eartli,  to  the  exclusion  of 
all  other  parts  of  space, — as  heretofore  (although  in  a 
great  mystery),  to  be  the  subject  of  sight  and  touch. 

2.  But  how  emphatically  corrected  and  reproved  by 
Scripture,  is  the  sentiment  which  I  have  described ! 
Nothing  can  be  clearer  on  the  surface  of  the  narrative 
than  that  the  spiritual  state  of  the  Apostles  after  Pente- 
cost was  far  higher,  far  more  blessed,  yea,  one  of  far 
more  intimate  communion  with  the  Lord  than  it  had 
been  previously.  Whence  the  immense  increase  of  light, 
of  joy,  of  power,  contrasted  with  the  ignorance  and 
imbecility  of  their  former  state,  if  not  from  the  fact  that 
they  were  now  one  with  their  great  Head,  by  the  indwell- 
ing of  His  Spirit,  in  a  manner  in  which  they  had  never 


350  Appendix, 

before  been  one  ?  Tlieir  relation  to  Him  was  altered ; 
and  the  latter  relation  was  far  closer,  and  so  far  more 
excellent  and  desirable,  than  the  former  had  been.  He 
begins  to  teach  them  this  immediately  after  His  Resur- 
rection. "When  an  attempt  is  made  by  one  of  His  most 
devoted  followers  to  spring  towards  Him  with  the  old 
ardour  of  human  affection.  He  withdraws  Himself  from 
the  bodily  handling  as  that  which  was  now  to  find  place 
no  longer,  and  the  mysterious  words  fall  from  Plis  lips : 
"  Touch  me  not."  Not  that  His  heart  of  love  to  His 
followers  had  been  in  the  smallest  degree  chilled  by  the 
great  ordeal  through  which  He  had  passed  ;  not  that  His 
change  of  circumstances  had  rendered  him  in  the  least 
degree  cold  and  distant,  or  made  Him  push  those  to  arm's 
length  whom  He  had  once  delighted  to  gather  round  Him 
in  the  familiarities  of  friendly  intercourse  ;  but  that  by 
this  first  significant  word  He  would  have  them  under- 
stand that  it  was  not  any  longer  by  the  senses  that  they 
were  to  touch  Him  and  have  intercourse  with  Him,  but 
by  the  spiritual  faculty  of  faith.  In  short.  He  would 
initiate  them  into  the  new  relationship,  and  teach  them 
that  they  must  now  no  longer  know  Him  as  they  once 
had  known  Him,  "  after  the  flesh,"  must  seek  Him  no 
more  locally,  but  in  prayer,  speak  to  Him  by  lifting  up 
their  hearts,  draw  down  His  Power  to  their  relief  by 
communicating  with  Him  invisibly  through  hope  and 
trust.  But  alas  !  the  natural  and  corrupt  heart  of  man  is 
not  really  satisfied  with  that  spiritual  Presence  of  Christ, 
which  has  superseded  His  bodily  and  visible  Presence. 
We  like  walking  by  sight  much  better  than  walking  by 
faith  ;  and  liking  this  naturally,  we  imagine  to  ourselves 
a  local  presence  of  Christ  upon  earth  in  one  particular 
spot,  and  under  a  particular  form  of  matter,  even  when 


Aj[ypendix.  351 

such  an  imagination  involves  the  greatest  absurdities. 
The  same  feeling  would  have  led  us,  had  we  lived  in  the 
time  recorded  by  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  to  go  back 
again  in  fond  yearnings  of  memory  to  the  time  when  our 
Master  still  walked  visibly  among  men,  and  to  pour  forth 
sentimental  regrets  on  the  intercourse  once  vouchsafed, 
but  which  had  now  been  withdrawn.  But  do  the 
Apostles  themselves  ever  manifest  such  yearnings  or 
regrets?  Is  it  not  altogether  the  contrary?  Do  not 
cheerful  activity,  vigour,  boldness,  and  a  joyous  assurance 
of  their  Master's  support,  characterize  all  their  proceed- 
ings after  Pentecost ;  whereas  before  they  are  feeble, 
dull,  timid  and  sorrowful?  After  all,  the  mere  support 
to  be  derived  from  the  Bodily  Presence  of  one  Aviser  and 
better  than  ourselves, — what  does  it  amount  to  ?  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  our  lower  nature  in  such  support,  but 
little  of  the  higher.  An  animal  may  be  bold  when  his 
master  is  close  to  him,  cheering  him  on  to  the  attack,  or 
docile  when  the  human  eye  is  fixed  steadily  upon  him, 
and  exerts  a  kind  of  spell  in  subduing  resistance.  But  it 
is  the  glory  of  man  that  he  has  a  faculty  which  enables 
him  to  throw  himself  upon  and  realize  the  support  of  an 
unseen  God, —  a  faculty  which  giv^s  him  amoral  support, 
such  as  derives  no  aid  from  the  senses.  True  it  is  that 
God  has  condescended  to  that  infirmity  of  our  nature  by 
which  we  demand  a  visible  object  of  worship,  by  sending 
His  Son  into  the  world  to  reveal  His  Name  and  iSTature. 
But'  a  definite  apprehension  of  God  having  thus  been 
established  in  the  minds  of  men — a  great  object  of  Faith, 
levej  to  our  understanding  and  sympathies,  having  been 
once  for  all  displayed, — this  object  is  withdrawn  again 
into  the  Invisible  World,  in  order  that  our  faith  may 


352  Ajpjpendix. 

have  scope  to  exercise  itself.     If  Christ  were  under  our 
eyes,  what  trial  of  faith  would  there  be  in  believing? 

But  let  us  rather  ask  with  the  centurion,  what  could 
the  Bodily  Presence  of  Christ  under  our  roofs,  in  our 
Churches,  do  for  us,  which  He  is  at  present  unable  to 
do?  "The  Natural  Body  of  our  Saviour  Christ,"  says 
our  Prayer  Book,  "is  in  Heaven  and  not  here."  And 
Pleaveu  is  the  great  Presence  Chamber  of  God  beyond 
the  stars,  distant  we  know  not  how  far  from  our  globe. 
But  what  of  that?  "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able 
to  separate  me  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord."  This  earth  is  but  a  remote  corner  of 
God's  Universe, — an  extremity  of  the  great  system,  in 
whose  centre  sits  enthroned  the  Son  of  God,  in  His  risen 
and  glorified  Humanity.  But  to  Him,  as  He  has  Him- 
self assured  us,  is  given  "  all  power  in  Heaven  and  in 
earth."  His  will  permeates  all  space  with  a  speed 
greater  than  that  of  the  electric  spark.  He  speaks,  and 
it  is  done  ;  He  commands,  and  it  stands  fast.  By  His 
Word  He  is  present  in  every  district  of  Creation,  uphold- 
ing, informing,  controlling  all  things.  What  though 
Suns  and  systems  of  worlds  roll  between  us  and  His 
glorified  Body,  do  we  think  He  cannot  reach  us?  Are 
we  not  told  that  "  Angels,  and  authorities,  and  powers 
are  made  subject  unto  Him  "  ?  Has  He  no  subordinate 
ministers,  who  can  execute  His  behests  on  the  moment 
that  His  will  is  signified  to  them?  Is  not  the  lloly 
Spirit  a  mysterious  link  between  us  and  Him,  knitting  us 
as  close  to  Him  as  the  body,  by  the  possession  of  life,  is 
knit  to  the  soul  ?  If  He  is  the  centre  of  life  and  influence 
to  us,  as  the  soul  is  to  the  body,  can  there  be  any  closer 
union  with   Him?     Is   not  this   more  thau  enough  to 


.  Apjoendix.  353 

satisfy  all  ,the  longings  of  the  spiritual  mind  ?  And  do 
we  imagine  tliat  He  cannot  hear  us  at  so  great  a  dis- 
tance ?  O  unworthy  thought !  Who  shall  tell  the  speed 
with  which  Prayer  travels  to  His  ear,  or  rather  to  His 
heart  ?  Who  shall  tell  how  instantaneously  the  upward 
glance  of  an  eye  directed  towards  Him,  the  breath  of  a 
single  devout  aspiration,  reaches  His  Presence  Chamber? 
We  must  enlarge  our  views  of  His  Power  and  His  om- 
niscience, if  we  desire  that  our  faith,  like  the  centurion's, 
should  be  commended  by  Him.    "  Am  I  a  God  at  hand, 

saith  the  Lord,  and  not  a  God  afar  oif  ? Do  not  I 

fill  heaven  and  earth?  saith  the  Lord."  We  must  dis- 
miss all  notions  of  Him  which  would  reduce  Him  again 
under  the  limited  conditions,  which  it  pleased  Him  once 
to  assume,  of  an  earthly  body  and  a  natural  relationship. 
Let  us  regard  Him  as  the  King  of  Heaven,  whose  fiat 
takes  effect  immediately  upon  earth.  Let  us  learn  to  see 
in  all  events,  arrangements,  movements  of  this  shifting 
scene,  whether  great  or  small,  of  public  or  private  con- 
cernment, the  execution  of  His  v/ill.  Let  us  think  of 
Him  as  everywhere  present  by  His  Word.  And  let  us 
find  Him  in  our  own  hearts  by  the  motions  and  instigations 
of  His  Spirit,  nearer  to  our  true  personality,  nearer  to 
our  consciousness  and  inner  man,  than  even  the  most 
confidential  friend  can  ever  be.  There  let  us  hold  com- 
munion with  Him.  There  let  us  seek  His  face,  and 
speak  to  Him,  and  take  counsel  with  Him,  and  listen  to 
His  replies.  "  The  righteousness  which  is  of  faith 
spcaketh  on  this  wise.  Say  not  in  thine  heart.  Who  shall 
ascend  into  heaven?  (that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down  from 
above:)  Or,  who  shall  descend  into  the  deep?  (that  is, 
to  bring  up  Christ  again  from  the  dead.)  But  what 
saith  it?     The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and 


354  Appendix. 

in  thy  heart."  Prayer  is  in  the  mouth  of  the  Christian. 
Christ  (by  the  Spirit)  is  in  his  heart.  Verily  He  is  not 
far  from  every  one  of  us.  He  is  a  God  nigh  at  hand, 
and  access  to  Him  easy. 


THE   END. 


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ern El  Dorado.  "  This  description  is  amply  worth  the  costTJf  the  book  ''''—Amtri- 
can  Baptist. 

"  The  book  is  the  most  extended  and  complete  work  of  the  kind  that  has  yet 
appeared." — Cincinnati  Gazette, 


/"J^-^^y-t^l 


V 
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